5th Dec

CR IP TI ON BS SU

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

Biden seeks to calm China air zone tensions

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Egypt woos Gulf investors, promises to repay oil firms

Lebanese women futsal players kick down barriers

Arsenal maintain their 4-point lead

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12MPs 21 17 20 want probe, debate in Kuwait Airways deal No plans to impose taxes on citizens: Dashti

Max 26º Min 15º High Tide 00:01 & 14:14 Low Tide 07:40 & 19:33

By B Izzak

OPEC freezes oil output ceiling VIENNA: OPEC agreed yesterday to hold its crude production ceiling at 30 million barrels per day despite oversupply concerns and competition from cheaper shale oil. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps out about one third of the world’s oil, failed again to decide on a new secretary-general amid group tensions, instead keeping Libya’s Abdullah El-Badri as its administrative head for 2014. And Libya, where output of crude oil has fallen sharply on unrest in the country, will assume the cartel’s rotating presidency for next year, OPEC added in a communique.

The decision to maintain the oil ceiling had been widely expected by markets. The cartel, which could see higher production from its members Iran, Iraq and Libya in coming months, nevertheless faces competition from non-OPEC producers of shale oil.

The International Energy Agency has said repeatedly that the shale energy boom is changing the landscape of global energy markets. “We don’t say we are not con-

cerned” by shale, Badri told a press conference yesterday - but insisted that OPEC could accommodate US shale output, currently at 2.7 million barrels per day and set to rise further.

OPEC said in its statement that “global economic uncertainty, with the fragility of the eurozone remaining a concern” was the biggest challenge facing world oil markets in 2014. It said that “although world oil demand is forecast to increase during 2014, this will be more than offset by the projected increase in non-OPEC supply” amid a boom in oil and gas being extracted from North American shale rock. OPEC added: “Nevertheless, in the interest of maintaining market equilibrium, the conference decided to maintain the current production level of 30 million barrels a day.”

Ahead of the meeting, member nations led by the world’s biggest oil producer Saudi Arabia insisted that there was no need to change the ceiling.

Continued on Page 13

VIENNA: Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil and President of OPEC Mustafa Jassem Mohammad Al-Shamali (left) and Secretary General of OPEC Abdalla Salem El-Badri of Libya share a word prior to the start of a meeting yesterday. — AP

KUWAIT: MPs targeted yesterday a Kuwait Airways deal to purchase 25 planes and lease 12 others from Airbus, with some demanding details of the deal, others requesting a special session to debate the purchase while still others demanded a parliamentary investigation. National Assembly Speaker Marzouk Al-Ghanem said he received a request by a number of MPs to hold a special session to discuss the deal and ask the government for more details, adding that the request will be discussed in the next Assembly session scheduled for Dec 24. The speaker said the government has officially informed the Assembly that it will not attend next week’s two sessions because they coincide with the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Kuwait.

MP Ali Al-Omair said a number of MPs have signed a request to form a parliamentary committee to probe suspicions over the deal, especially the way Kuwait Airways Company signed the memorandum of understanding with Airbus. He said that there is another suspicion that an Amiri decree must have been issued to appoint the board of directors to be able to sign the deal. KAC announced on Monday that it had signed an MoU to purchase 10 Airbus A350-900 and 15 Airbus A320neo aircraft with an option for 10 more, five of each type. The deal also involves leasing 12 Airbus planes, seven A320 and five A330-200 jets.

Continued on Page 13

Hezb commander killed Nasrallah says Saudis behind embassy blasts

Truck with radioactive waste stolen Al-AIN: Emirati President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahayan meets Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif yesterday. — AP

Tehran reaches out to wary Gulf states DUBAI: With the ink barely dry on a nuclear deal that paves the way for warmer relations with the West, Iran’s new leadership is making a push to patch up tensions with US allies closer to home too. Tehran’s top diplomat arrived in the United Arab Emirates yesterday for talks with the nation’s leader that touched on last month’s nuclear pact, as well as regional security and bilateral relations. It was the sort of courtesy call Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is growing accustomed to making.

Since the start of the week, the diplomat has visited four of the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, who have long been wary of Shiite powerhouse Iran. Only Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have been left out of his Gulf tour so far, but they are significant omissions - Saudi Arabia is the region’s powerhouse, while Sunni-ruled Bahrain faces a three -year-old uprising by majority

Shiites.

Zarif’s meeting with the Emirati president, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, took place in a palace in the low-key desert oasis city of Al Ain, about 160 km inland from the rapidly developing federal capital, Abu Dhabi. The Emirati leader reiterated his country’s support for the nuclear deal and said his nation looks forward to enhancing regional stability and security, according to an account of their meeting carried by the official WAM news agency.

He also said he hoped for more cooperation between the two OPEC member states. Zarif extended an invitation for Khalifa to visit Iran, which the state news agency said “His Highness thankfully accepted,” and expressed Iran’s desire to strengthen its ties with the Gulf countries. Zarif then travelled to Dubai, where he met with ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. — AP

MEXICO CITY: Mexican authorities scrambled yesterday to find a truck containing “extremely dangerous” radioactive material used in medical treatment that was stolen by two gunmen two days ago, officials said. The white Volkswagen Worker truck was transporting a “teletherapy source” containing cobalt-60 when it was stolen Monday in the central Hidalgo state town of Tepojaco, north of Mexico City, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. The driver told investigators that the gunmen approached him at a service station, tied him up and drove away with the truck, according to a text of the testimony shown by the Hidalgo state prosecutor’s office.

The radioactive material came from a hospital in the northwestern city of Tijuana and had been on its way to a waste storage center in the central state of Mexico, authorities said. “At the time the truck was stolen, the source was properly shielded. However, the source could be extremely dangerous to a person if removed from the shielding, or if it was damaged,” an IAEA statement said. Mexico’s National Commission for Nuclear Safety and Safeguards (CNSNS) released a picture of the steel-reinforced wood container and the teletherapy equipment being lowered into it.

The commission, which reported the theft to the IAEA, said the material posed no risk provided it was not broken or tampered with. A search was under way in six states and in Mexico City for the truck, which has an integrated crane, the CNSNS said. The theft occurred an hour’s drive north of the capital. The commission gave phone numbers for anyone with information to call. “Whoever has or finds the equipment is urged not to open or damage it, as in these cases it can cause severe health problems,” it said. — AFP

BEIRUT: Hezbollah yesterday blamed Israel for murdering one of its top leaders near Beirut at a time of soaring tensions in Lebanon linked to the war in neighbouring Syria. The dead man, identified as Hassan Hawlo Al-Lakiss, was the group’s most senior figure to be assassinated since Imad Mughniyah in a Damascus bombing in 2008, when Hezbollah again blamed Israel. Lakiss, virtually unknown before his death was made public, belonged to Hezbollah’s secretive senior leadership. “The Islamic resistance announces the death of one of its leaders, the martyr Hassan Hawlo AlLakiss, who was assassinated near his house in the Hadath region” east of Beirut, Hezbollah said.

“Direct accusation is aimed of course against the Israeli enemy which had tried to eliminate our martyred brother again

and again and in several places but had failed, until yesterday (Tuesday) evening.

This enemy must bear full responsibility for all the consequences of this heinous crime,” Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television channel said. Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor dismissed the allegation as “yet another Pavlovian response from Hezbollah, which makes automatic accusations before even thinking about what’s actually happened”.

“Israel has nothing to do with this,” Palmor said.

Damascus echoed Hezbollah’s accusations, adding that it condemned the “terrorist, cowardly” assassination. Two previously unknown groups identifying themselves as Sunnis issued separate claims of responsibility. The Free Sunnis Brigade of Baalbek called the killing revenge for Continued on Page 13

BAALBEK, Lebanon: Mourners carry the coffin of Hassan Hawlo Al-Lakiss (seen inset), one of Hezbollah’s top commanders, during his funeral in this eastern Lebanese city yesterday. — AFP

Saudi spy chief meets Putin

NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan (second left) meet in Putin’s residence outside Moscow on Tuesday. — AFP

MOSCOW: Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief has held a new meeting in Russia with President Vladimir Putin on the Syrian conflict, the second closed-door encounter this year between the Russian leader and the key regional powerbroker. The Kremlin said in a statement late Tuesday that Prince Bandar bin Sultan discussed with Putin at the president’s suburban Moscow residence the situation in the Middle East and preparations for a Syria peace conference planned in January. “There was a detailed exchange of views on the situation around Syria, including in the context of preparations for the Geneva II conference,” the Kremlin said, without giving further details.

The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement yesterday that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had also met Prince Bandar in Moscow to discuss the Syria peace con-

ference. “The emphasis was placed on the need to ensure that regional problems are solved on the basis of respect of the UN Charter and principles of international law,” the Russian foreign ministry said. The Syria conflict has further strained already testy relations between Moscow and Riyadh, with Russia refusing to drop its cooperation with the regime of Bashar Al-Assad and Saudi Arabia openly backing the rebels.

Some analysts have seen Saudi Arabia’s shock decision to reject a seat on the UN Security Council as prompted by its frustration with the use by Russia of its veto to block sanctions against Assad. Bandar last met Putin in a meeting on July 31 whose circumstances remain shrouded in mystery but which caused huge interest in the Arab world. — AFP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

KFAS launches new steps for advancement of knowledge Amir patronizes awards ceremony KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday sponsored the Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) Awards ceremony, where His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah attended on his behalf. Attendees and officials warmly welcomed His Highness the Crown Prince upon his arrival at the ceremony venue, Sheraton Hotel. Among the present officials was KFAS’ Director General Dr. Adnan Shehab-Eddine, along with the foundation board members.

The ceremony was also attended by Speaker of the National Assembly Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim, Former Speaker of the National Assembly Jassem Al-Kharafi, senior Sheikhs, Deputy Chief of the National Guards Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad AlSabah, Acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Jarrah Al-Sabah and senior State officials.

The ceremonial gathering got underway with recitation of the holy Quran, followed by a short documentary about the foundation, then a statement by Dr Shehab-Eddine. Afterwards, His Highness the Crown Prince distributed awards and certificates of appreciation to winners of the foundation 2012 awards.

Reciprocating, KFAS presented His Highness with a memorial present, before he was bidden farewell upon departing the ceremony venue.

In his address at the ceremony, the KFAS Director General stated, “Today we meet again under patronization of His Highness the Amir May Allah safeguard him, Board Chairman of Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences, with the gracious attendance of His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince, May Allah protect him, representing His Highness (the Amir), for celebrating a new batch of Kuwaiti and Arab scientists and researches with a record of abundant and innovative contributions. “(They are being honored) for their tangible contributions to advancement of knowledge, thus they have earned the awards of Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences in 2012.”

Expressing good wishes to the awards’ winners, Shehab-Edddine noted that Kuwait hosted, around the middle of November, the third session of the ArabAfrican Summit, upon an invitation by His Highness the Amir, under theme “Partners of development and investment,” where it was crowned with record success that drew praise “of everybody due to the sagacious leadership of His Highness (the Amir).”

Noting that the summit successful outcome reflect-

ed the Kuwaitis’ inborn advocacy of cooperation, solidarity and aiding others, Shehab-Eddine said the generous initiative by His Highness the Amir at the inaugural session “was a stark translation of this blessed approach, innate among natives of Kuwait, where His Highness announced the State of Kuwait (decisive) decision to allot a mega annual financial award, named after the late Dr. Abdul-Rahman Al-Sumait for (funding) researches and development initiatives in Africa.”

On KFAS’ foundation in 1976, Shehab-Eddine paid tribute to the late Amir, His Highness Sheikh Jaber AlAhmad Al-Sabah, whose desire, along with that of the private sector, represented by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, led to the creation of the foundation, with aim of building an enlightened society.

KFAS, whose Board is chaired by His Highness the Amir, and funded by Kuwaiti share-holding companies, has always drawn utmost care and concern by His Highness the Amir, he said, alluding to His Highness Sheikh Sabah who has continued to devote the special attention to the foundation since he was the premier.

Such top-level care, he added, should nudge the foundation personnel to persevere and “continue the quest for more concrete accomplishments, with greater efficiency.”

Cautioning against complacency, the DirectorGeneral called for continuous efforts to spread the knowledge of science among the natives and encouraging the youth to get engaged in the realm of sciences, promoting knowledge and supporting scholars and innovators.

Serving this approach, KFAS is relentlessly seeking to realize such objectives, executing programs in the second year of its five-year strategy, he said naming among the projects under execution: Start of operating Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah center for Nuclear

Medicine in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Kuwait University.

This center, the most advanced scientific center established by the foundation, offers high-quality services in medical diagnosis of chronic diseases, such as brain tumors, cancer and cardiac diseases. It hosts a special laboratory for scientific learning, training and research, particularly with respect of examining sideeffects of some newly-produced drugs.

Secondly, Dr Shehab-Eddine added in his presentation shedding light in details on the foundation multi-axes strategy, “In its quest to realize His Highness the Amir outlook of expanding usage of solar energy for electricity generation in Kuwait, the foundation has begun executing its exemplary project of supplying solar energy to some public buildings such as AlZahraa and Kaifan Cooperatives,” in coordination with Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies.

Another unprecedented venture is being planned; aimed at promoting solar energy for commercial usage for the public, he said, noting that it will cover, in the first phase, 150 houses in several residential district.

These two ventures, carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Electricity and Water and Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), aim to lower load on the electrical network at peak times and rationing oil and gas consumption.

Shedding light on the third venture, ShehabEddine indicated the foundation was involved in making plans for expansion of the Scientific Center to include makeshift habitat for dolphins, a new exploration hall, predicting that the number of the visitors to the center that has totally reached eight million since its establishment would double.

KFAS completed, this year, studying economic and technical feasibility of establishing Kuwait Virtual University, forecast to serve tens of thousands of Kuwaitis and hundreds of thousands of Arabs.

The foundation, in the last three years, doubled its research projects to 60. Also this year, it started offering financial contributions to small and medium companies, particularly for funding studies and researches.

In conclusion, Dr Shehab-Eddine extended gratitude to His Highness the Amir for patronizing the ceremony and His Highness the Crown Prince for attending it on behalf of His Highness Sheikh Sabah.

Speaking on behalf of the awards’ winner, Dr Ahmad Saqer Ashour greeted Their Highness the Amir and the Crown Prince, noted educational benefits of Kuwait’s scientific and cultural publications, praised the foundation award and expressed deep gratitude to the foundation officials for the distinctive honoring of the winners. —KUNA

Al-Khorafi supports cabinet reshuffle KUWAIT: Former speaker of the parliament Jassem Al-Khorafi believes that a cabinet reshuffle should be given high consideration “since we are in need for stability and focus on productivity”.

Al-Khorafi made his statements to reporters at a ceremony organized Monday by the United Arab Emirates’ embassy to celebrate the UAE National Day. “The decision to make a cabinet reshuffle is up to Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak

Al-Sabah to make”, he said, adding at the same time that “a limited change obviates a cabinet’s resignation”.

Asked about a draft law to increase the number of parliament members to 70, AlKhorafi underlined the importance of ‘quality’ as a main characteristic that should distinguish lawmakers’ performance. “It is not about quantity, but quality”, he said. “We need better quality performance from the 50 MPs before we talk about having 70 MPs”.

NUKS honors Al Ahli Bank KUWAIT: Within the framework of sponsoring the Annual Conference of The National Union of Kuwaiti Students (NUKS) - USA Branch, the Union honored Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait as a recognition for sponsoring the conference activities, which was held in California, USA. Sahar Al-Therban, Public Relations Manager at ABK, received the trophy presented by the former president of The National Union of Kuwaiti Students (NUKS) - USA Branch Sa’ad Al-Zamel in recognition of the support and efforts made by Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait during the conference.

Al-Therban thanked NUKS for this hon-

oring and stated: “ABK is happy with this participation and the sponsorship of the Annual Conference of National Union of Kuwaiti Students -USA Branch and The Bank is keen to support the social and cultural activities committed to our support for the role of students, their social responsibility and their contribution to the progress and prosperity of our country Kuwait. “ It should be noted that Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait contributes in supporting the activities of the National Union of Kuwaiti students inside and outside of Kuwait through its strategy of the continuous support for the youth and their role in the community development.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

Kuwait takes measures to boost Egyptian economy Moves on to form partnerships

KUWAIT: The Ambassador of Japan Toshihiro Tsujihara hosted a reception at his residence to celebrate the Birthday of the Emperor of Japan. High-ranking officials, diplomats and media persons attended the reception. —- Photos by Joseph Shagra

Japan-Kuwait ties ‘a role model’ KUWAIT: Following is the speech of Ambassador of Japan Toshihiro Tsujihara at the Emperor’s Birthday reception.

“May I extend my sincere greetings and appreciation to Your Excellency Minister Al-Jarallah for honoring this evening with us.

“We are here tonight to celebrate His Majesty the Emperor Akihito’s 80th birthday. I would like to take this opportunity to wish His Majesty the Emperor Akihito and His Highness Sheik h Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait the best of health and happiness for years to come and thank you all for joining us on this happy occasion.

“One year has passed since my appointment as Ambassador. Year 2013 became the year to commemorate for further promotion of the distinguished relations between Kuwait and Japan.

“In August, Prime Minister of Japan ShinzoAbe visited Kuwait for the first time since 2007 and met His Highness the Deputy Amir Sheikh Nawaf. Prime Minister Abe also had fruitful bilateral talk with His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber and they issued a Joint Statement, in which both our countries agreed to further cooperate in various fields, including economy, politics, security and cultural exchanges. As for the cooperation in the economy, Japan expressed its sincere eagerness to assist the government of Kuwait for drawing up and monitoring its national development plan, and Kuwait expressed its willingness to benefit from Japan. I’m confident Japanese experience and expertise in this regard contribute to improvement of the living standards of the Kuwaiti people. I’ll continue to exert my utmost to bring best benefits to Kuwait.

“Since my appointment one year ago,I feel there have been growing interests of the Kuwaitis in Japanese culture, especially among youths. For that reason,I kept trying to further introduce

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah announced that Kuwait would take a number of measures to help boost the Egyptian economy, according to an official statement from the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development.

Sheik hSabah Khaled asser ted that the Kuwait Investment Authority would form partnerships with Egyptian organisations to aid in implementing projects and invest in joint ventures with the country, which the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development would finance.

He was quoted in the statement as saying that in the coming period, Kuwait would give priority to the projects that affect Egyptian citizens.

These statements came through a meeting between Egyptian Minister of Housing Ibrahim Mehleb, Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti Ministers of Public Work and Housing, Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company and Egyptian Ambassador to Kuwait Abdel Karim Soliman, which was held this week to discuss cooperation between the two countries.

According to the statement, Mehleb said that the Kuwaiti officials welcomed the Egyptian delegation and confirmed their willingness to cooperate with Egypt in various fields.

Kuwaiti officials expressed their contentment regarding the involvement of Egyptian company Arab Contractors Co. in a number of projects in Kuwait, adding that the Gulf countr y will facilitate the employment of Egyptian workers in various projects

there.

“The Ministry of Housing is preparing to construct three new housing cities, and hopes that Arab Contractors would participate in implementing these cities,” Kuwaiti Minister of Housing Salem Al-Azina was quoted in the statement as saying.

Kuwait, along with other Gulf countries, pledged loans to Egypt in the form of interest-free deposits, cash grants and petroleum products after the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

Kuwait leased $4bn; the Gulf’s financial aid packages also included $5bn from Saudi Arabia and $3bn from the United Arab Emirates, totalling $12bn in aid from the Gulf region.

The Central Bank of Egypt received the $2bn deposit from Kuwait on Sept 26.

In October, El-Beblawi announced that Kuwait has extended Egypt’s time frame for the debt repayment to five years rather than an initial one year, adding that this was per Egypt’s request.

On Oct 26, the United Arab Emirates pledged a $4.9bn aid package to Egypt. El-Beblawi said in a press conference in Abu Dhabi, which concluded his three-day visit to the Gulf country, that this package will most likely be followed by similar gestures from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Foreign reserves have increased after the influx of Gulf aid to reach $18.9bn in August. The government announced earlier in August that Gulf aid will help reduce the 14% budget deficit.

Ministry urges subscribers to pay phone bills KUWAIT: The Ministry of Communications called subscribers of phone services to pay their financial bills in order to avoid automatic coder disconnect, slated to be implemented during current month against those who are lagging on payment.

A first warning note would be sent to subscribers on Dec 8 before applying coder disconnect, followed by a second warning note to be sent to subscribers’ phone numbers on Dec 15, Dr Ahmad Al-Hussaini, Director of public relations department at the ministry said in a press statement.

Then, the ministry will go ahead and disconnect the service from subscribers who lagged on paying their bills, Al-Hussaini added, noting that financial rates for overdue bills are KD 50 for home phone serv-

Japanese culture here in Kuwait through collaborating with various Kuwaiti societies which are so active in organizing Japanese cultural events and through holding our own cultural events such as the Japanese Diwaniya, which was launched last Thursday to offer good oppor tunities for the Kuwaitis who are eager to enjoy speaking Japanese language and cultural events. I’ll keep doing my utmost as I believe cultural, sports and youth exchanges produce good future between our countries.

“In this regard, one of the other most cheerful moments this year was in September when Tokyo was announced to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Games. I would like to take this opportunity

to thank Kuwait for extending their valuable support to Tokyo. We are looking forward to hosting world athletes and suppor ters in the biggest sports event.

“I truly feel high expectations for Japan from Kuwait, not only the cooperation in economy, but also in politics, security, culture and many other fields. As I promised last year at the reception, I’ll continue to spare no effort to come up to these expectations and to turn these into good outcomes, in order to strengthen our bilateral ties for further progress of our two countries.

“Finally, I would like to reiterate my sincere thanks and gratitude to all of you for attending tonight’s celebration.Thank you very much, shukuran.”

Drug dealer arrested

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Drug Control General Department officers arrested a Kuwaiti man who attempted to smuggle 2 kg of marijuana he brought from an Asian country. The operation which led to the arrest was based on information about a drug trafficker who was to receive a shipment from abroad. The man was caught red-handed at the Kuwait International Airport after receiving a shipment of utensils, which when opened were found to contain drugs. The man was taken to the authorities to face drug trafficking charges.

Drug possession Five people were arrested with possession of drugs in two separate incidents on Monday. The first incident took place in Sulaibiya during which police arrested two Kuwaiti men and one bedoon (stateless resident) inside a car with possession of hashish and drug pills. The second arrest took place in Hawally following a car chase that started at the UN roundabout. A bedoon man and a woman were arrested with possession of an unlicensed handgun as well as shabu (meth) and hashish. The woman was also charged with imitating the opposite sex.

Embassy fight A case was filed at the Rawda police station after a fight at the Egyptian Embassy in the area between a bedoon man and an employee in the consulate. The two exchanged battery and assault charges.

Gamblers busted Police arrested six men who used an apartment in Fahaheel for gambling. Security officers obtained a warrant to raid the apartment based on information that it was used to host gambling activities in violation of local regulations. The six Asian nationals were arrested inside the flat where police also found cash and gambling tools. They detainees were taken to the authorities to face charges.

Meanwhile, Jahra police identified three people who fired celebratory gunshots during a wedding hosted recently in the area. Investigations are ongoing in search for the suspects. A case was also filed at the area’s police station by a Bangladeshi man who accused a compatriot of molesting his daughter.

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ices and KD 100 for business phone service.

Also, he indicated that the automatic coder disconnect will include phone numbers that agreed on leasing their overdue payments and were late in making their monthly payment, adding that phone numbers of those late in paying their annual subscriptions, over six months, will include homes and businesses for non-Kuwaitis, and business for Kuwaitis.

In addition, Al-Hussaini stressed importance of commitment of paying the ministry financial bills for the continuation of phone services and avoidance of automatic coder disconnect, expressing at the same time his appreciation to subscribers who showed their cooperation with the ministry in the past months.— KUNA

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL In my view

kuwait digest

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By Abdulateef Al-Mulhim

ubai! I have never heard of it. Where is this country on the map? And who lives in it and what do they do for a living? These were some of the questions my American classmates used to ask me in 1979. I vividly remember that in 1959, Egypt had dispatched a team of engineers to Dubai to assess how the overall infrastructure should be planned.

Interestingly, on the basis of the team’s assessment Egyptian newspapers wrote that it was very difficult to develop Dubai.

At that time, Dubai didn’t even have any kind of government structure, no electricity, no airport, no schools, no roads and no running water. So, what did Dubai do that no other city was able to accomplish in such a short span of time? It is true that the growth of many countries like Singapore is a miracle but Dubai achieved all this with limited resources and under a very competitive environment.

Now Dubai is known all across the world and has shown the world what a strong-willed leader could achieve. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum had a dream, an iron will and made a promise to transform Dubai into a city of miracles, and Sheikh Mohammed delivered on his promise. Nowadays, Dubai is not only the main link between the East and West but is also the link between the South and the North. About 30 years ago, when the aviation industry was struggling to survive, Dubai launched an airline they called Emirates. They had only two aircraft at a time when FedEx a fleet of 700. Emirates started with four flights a day at a time when United Airlines had a schedule of 4,000 flights a day. The rest is history.

Everybody knows the current position of Emirates.

Around 30 years ago, when the world was suffering from a slowdown in the real state and slowdown in accomplishing mega infrastructure projects, Dubai was ahead of many cities around the world in building and developing one of the most sophisticated infrastructures in the world. The world saw not only the construction of high-rises, highways, schools and hospitals, but also the evolution of a society that cares for the welfare of the people. Three years ago, when the international news was focusing on the unrest in the Arab World due to the so-called Arab Spring, Dubai was and still is, an oasis of stability.

Dubai now is going to host the Expo 2020. Dubai was selected among many cities and won with a majority. The expo is held once every five years and lasts six months. Many experts expect Dubai to do miracles from the year 2013 to the time of the opening of the expo in the year 2020. Dubai will receive more than 25 million people in the year 2020 and they can handle this number of people from around the world because they have been doing it for the past 10 years. Dubai is the center of commercial flights with an airport handling tens of millions and its tourism department is handling a capacity of more than 60 million visitors every year. Events, exhibitions and air shows are held in Dubai year-round. In other words, no one was surprised that Dubai was given the privilege to host the 2020 Expo.

Dubai’s Expo 2020 will be hosted under the theme: “Connecting Minds, Creating Future.” Dubai will show the world the art of global priorities in every aspect.

And what is more, the nomination of Dubai didn’t only show the world how advanced and developed Dubai is, but it also showed how the people of the United Arab Emirates are enjoying a unique unity between the ruler and the ruled. The president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, and other rulers of the Emirates are great supporters of Dubai’s preparations for the Expo 2020. Dubai’s nomination is a first for the Arab world and Africa. And seeing Dubai host the Expo 2020 is going to have a positive impact not just on the UAE but on other countries in the region.

Dubai’s nomination also reflected the political, security, economic and social stability it enjoys. The people of the UAE enjoy one of the highest per capita-income in the world and one of the few countries in the world with no poverty.

kuwait digest

Representative of nation or govt?

T

Human rights anywhere!

Arab....satellites

A city of miracles

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

he grilling filed by MP Riyadh Al-Adasani, a member of the opposition’s coalition in the annulled parliament, against HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah clearly exposed how backwardly it is and how deep corruption runs in the parliament. It was not surprising to see no one speak in support of the grilling, as much as it was the attempt of pro-government MPs to ‘silence’ the others - namely Adasani and fellow oppositionist Abdullah Al-Tujairi and prevent them from practicing their simple parliamentary duties.

This kind of behavior did not originate in the present parliament. The same approach was practiced by allies of MPs Adasani and Turaiji in the annulled parliament that was dominated by an oppositionist majority, as they deliberately marginalized the minority. Before that, the government and its loyal majority in the 1963 parliament ‘besieged’ the nationalist minority, leading eight of them to resign when they felt that it has become impossible to practice parliamentary work and the duties they were elected for.

Such behavior is undemocratic of course, and originates from the deficient grasp of democracy under which it is regarded as ‘the rule of the majority’, instead of the majority’s decision as democracy actually means. The majority decides, but does not rule. Those who rule are the people through their constitution. That might sound ambiguous or contradictory to logic, but if we take a closer look into the basics of the democratic system in constitutions around the world including our own, we find that the ‘majority’ of the parliament is limited constitutionally.

For example, the Kuwaiti constitution says that the parliament cannot reduce people’s democratic gains or alter them unless if it was for the better. So if the parliament’s majority wanted to limit or restrict freedoms, that would be impossible according to the constitution. Based on this we can conclude that preventing a lawmaker from practicing his parliamentary duties or expressing his opinion is constitutionally illegal. These rights are guaranteed to citizens, not to mention a parliament member who represents the whole nation. —Al-Qabas

By Labeed Abdal

Oil local@kuwaittimes.net

I Terrorism In my view

Pinning hope on new media

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as our world really changed because we have become more communicative? We boast of the highest number of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter users. I thank those who created these means of communication. There’s no doubt we now know more about each other than we did five years ago.

And as we get to know each other more, the more we have to worry.

Social media is a mirror that reflects communities as they are. In the United States, nine of the top tweeters are artistes such as Katy Perry and Justin Beiber.

Seven of the top tweeters here are religious scholars like Al-Oraifi and Al-Ouda. So, would the cultural map change just because we have 20 million people tweeting on a daily basis, or will that only strengthen the old situation?

A recent symposium organized by english.alarbiya.net discussed the sociopolitical impact of technology in our region. The event concluded that new technologies, particularly the fast-emerging social media, would help this troubled, divided and full-ofconflicts world to get to know each other well.

Statistics indeed show that this world is changing, going through an unprecedented transformation. The current transformation is even unmatched with the one that the world had witnessed since the invention of airplanes, trains and ships that changed the plan-

By Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

et’s demography and the emergence of the printing press and television that created a world of information.

However, the conclusion that the social media would help people understand each other better is questionable, as this cannot be backed by solid facts.

In fact, the general conclusion indicates that social media might be doing just the opposite. It may be increasing the flow of information and making it more available to the masses but it has so far not helped improve any given situation.

On Twitter we can read the tweets of Al-Qaeda followers, threatening and proudly showing photos of decapitated heads. There are millions of messages on Twitter, many of which are hate messages. This is unprecedented. It’s like a world-level sewage overflow. So, we can’t claim the gap has been bridged. The truth is that the opposite might have happened.

Twitter though is not similar to gunpowder, for instance, but more like a kitchen knife - You can make a feast using it or commit murder with it, or like a satellite dish that is only a metal dish that cannot be blamed for the content that reaches the viewers.

We are in another stage of information marred by confusion. This stage might correct itself later as was the case with the Internet that has become a useful tool in our daily lives.

In my view

Geneva 2 fate to be decided in battlefields

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By Osama Al-Sharif

he fate of Geneva 2, the proposed peace con- Qalamoun region, northwest of the capital and ference whose objective is to find a political along the Lebanese borders. It looks to repeat its solution to Syria’s three-year civil war, will be success in driving back rebels from areas south of decided in the battlefields. The coming few weeks Damascus. Strategically speaking the regime wants separating us from the Jan 22 meet will prove to the to go to Geneva having reclaimed areas surroundbloodiest and costliest both to the regime and the ing its capital city. myriad rebel groups fighting for its ouster. Until In addition, the regime was helped by the erothen, the world will have to brace itself for major sion of the anti-Assad coalition of nations. On the military upsets and surprises. other hand, the opposition has yielded to internaIt is fair to say that both sides to the conflict are tional pressure to attend the peace conference. It not interested in a political solution. If the Geneva has been unable to enforce conditions on the future conference does take place, it could break up as of President Assad in the proposed transitional soon as opening statements are delivered. The phase. Syria has made it clear that the fate of its regime of President Bashar Al-Assad is growing in president will not be discussed in Geneva. confidence and is determined to go to Geneva as a The opposition is divided and it has lost touch victor. It has shown resolve and was able to override with its armed forces on the ground. The position of months of militar y the Free Syrian Army (FSA) defeats in various parts on Geneva is unclear. The of the country. But in FSA has lost ground in areas The regime knows that such a recent weeks it has near Damascus recently, but made important gains strike is no longer an option. the most dangerous develon a number of fronts, opment is the escalation of The US and Russia have especially in the subhostilities between its urbs of Damascus and groups and jihadists, espeworked out a plan to pursue a around the besieged cially the renegade Islamic political solution and most city of Aleppo.

State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS).

There are no signs I nternecine fighting has importantly the fate of that its military chain of weakened the resolve of the command has been President Assad is no longer on rebels and boosted Assad’s weakened. Its air force claim that he is in fact prothe table. Furthermore, the remains active, dealing tecting the world from Alpainful blows to both recently-adopted deal on Iran’s Qaeda-affiliated terrorists. opposition fighters and Still things could change hapless civilians caught nuclear program has been an on the ground. The dangers in the line of fire. But of spillover into neighboring additional boon. Tehran’s most impor tantly, its countries, especially political position has political, logistical and military Lebanon, remain real. And been bolstered in the the possibility of partition support, in addition to the aftermath of its accepthas gained ground as ance to dismantle its activists in Syria’s deployment of Hezbollah fight- Kurdish cache of chemical nor th and nor theast weapons to avoid a announced that they are ers, has become a “game Western military strike. seeking to create a Kurdish changer” in the bloody con- self-rule region in three govThe regime k nows that such a strike is no comprising nearly flict. In short the regime has ernorates longer an option. The 15 percent of Syria’s territory. never looked better.

US and Russia have Until the convening of worked out a plan to Geneva 2, all eyes will be pursue a political solufocused on three battlefronts tion and most importantly the fate of President - Qalamoun, Daraa and Aleppo. Each side wants to Assad is no longer on the table. Furthermore, the go to the peace conference with as many winning recently-adopted deal on Iran’s nuclear program has cards as possible. It is inconceivable that a political been an additional boon. Tehran’s political, logistical solution will be reached in Switzerland in January and military support, in addition to the deployment next year. The gap separating both sides is too huge of Hezbollah fighters, has become a “game changer” to cover by any initiative. Assad’s position has never in the bloody conflict. In short the regime has never been stronger. His Russian and Iranian allies continlooked better. ue to support him. The opposition is fragmented In order to prepare for its debut in Geneva, and disillusioned. But the reality is Syria’s implosion Damascus has intensified its military campaign will continue unabated. While it seems difficult to against what it calls “terrorists” backed by foreign move forward, it is also impossible to turn back the powers. It has made important breakthroughs in the clock.

n view of the UN Human Rights bureau’s report about the atrocities and war crimes committed by the Syrian regime that are documented by victims’ and their families’ testimonies about this civil war that has claimed the lives of 1,25,853 people - mainly kids and civilians -and in view of the fact that Syrian refugees number over a million people with a majority being children, the increase of compulsory illegal jobs, the spread of human organ trade among people younger than twenty and the increase of smuggling people to neighboring countries all call for activating international bodies’ role in fighting the spread of corruption during and in the aftermath of armed conflicts so as to ensure fair enforcement of human rights, especially those of children and minors to avoid further disasters and tragedies.

Moreover, these incidents helped create and revive black markets in which every precious and valuable thing is on sale on the grounds of ‘all that can be bought is legitimate merchandise to make profits and gains even if illegal’.

The Syrian opposition meeting in Moscow and the calls made by Russia to get regime representatives and the opposition to meet is a revival of Russia’s old role in the Middle East. It also indicates that Russia wishes to revive its role as a major leader in the Warsaw Pact to counter the penetration of NATO in the region. The Russians have directly and indirectly stressed that the ‘Russian bear’ had hibernated long enough and that it was high time for it to resume its international role as a leading Security Council member.

This major power was never far from the Middle East conflicts since the 1970s and it has been a favored player representing the East, especially when shuttle trips are needed through the Middle East to win more support and affiliation whenever the region is disappointed in the West and its major players!

kuwait digest

Culture of indifference

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By Dr Mohammad Al-Moqatei

frustrating problem that affects state management in Kuwait is indifference. This phenomenon is increasingly seen today and practiced by citizens, state employees, students, etc. The faces of indifference include lack of attention at the workplace, skipping work or class as well as ignoring work tasks and duties.

In general, many citizens who demand rights make legitimate demands most of the time, but at the same time show hesitation to carry out duties and complain a lot about the slightest of errors in public services. We find employees who report late to work, have limited productivity and do the minimum of their daily job requirements. Despite this, the same workers look for ways to get job promotions and rewards unlawfully, give excuses to skip work and anxiously wait for the next holiday on the calendar which the government gives for important and non-important occasions.

Meanwhile, there are students who believe that they have absolute right of education, meaning to say that they are entitled to a degree regardless of their educational performance. They skip classes, rarely study, fail exams and at the end of the semester complain when they fail or receive bad grades.

Those problems indicate that a ‘culture of indifference’ is spreading in society. This culture originated from errors committed or encouraged by the government and parliament. For example, a parliament member recently ‘thanked’ the government in a public statement for giving state employees and students a day off on Tuesday, Nov 19, 2013 when Kuwait hosted the Arab-African Summit.

Those problems indicate that a ‘culture of indifference’ is spreading in society. This culture originated from errors committed or encouraged by the government and parliament. For example, a parliament member recently ‘thanked’ the government in a public statement for giving state employees and students a day off on Tuesday, Nov 19, 2013 when Kuwait hosted the Arab-African Summit. The decision was taken despite the fact that alternative routes and plans were ready to be used in cases that require closing main roads to prepare for summits. Instead, the government yielded to political pressure and administrative leniency to simply give that day off. A similar situation happens when the government extends a holiday for an extra day or two, or gives a day off on a day that lies between a holiday and the weekend.

Since the culture of indifference was originated by the state, then the state is mainly responsible to correct the situation in order to build the Kuwaiti citizen who is the basis of development - correctly.

Dependency and lack of accountability are without a shadow of a doubt factors that lead to the destruction of a society. —Al-Qabas

THIURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

Kuwait marks World Day of People with Disabilities KUWAIT: The State of Kuwait plays a great role in promoting awareness about, and overcoming, the difficulties facing persons with disabilities, a UNDP official said yesterday.

“Kuwait is pioneer among the Arab countries in defending the rights of people with special needs, notably dyslexic students, to education,” Acting Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Dima AlKhateeb affirmed.

She made the comments during a celebration, held by UNDP office here, to mark the UN International Day of People with Disabilities which falls today. “ Today’s celebration is part of the efforts to promote public awareness about the rights of persons with disabilities and enable this segment of the society to have a positive impact on social development,” she pointed out.

The celebration witnessed the launching the first smart phone application for dyslexic persons.

“The application has been developed through the assistance of UNDP experts; it’s a free application and easy to access,”

Al-Khateeb said, noting that the application can help diagnose children with dyslexia at an early age and guide their parents on how to get help inside or outside the countr y. On his par t, Chairman of Kuwait Dyslexia Association (KDA) Mohammad Youssof Al-Qatami said Kuwait has made great strides in caring for persons who face difficulties in learning.

“Kuwait has made noticeable achievements exhanging expertise with UNDP and other concerned agencies he fields of diagnosing and treating dyslexic persons, “ he pointed out.

The UNDP and Kuwait’s Supreme Council for Planning and Development maintain fruitful cooperation in such areas as building the capacity of education experts and civil society organizations, and overcoming the learning problems, Al-Qatami went on.

One of the fruits of this cooperation was the development of the Iphone application for dyslexics which is an innovative initiative jointly made by the KDA, the UNDP and experts from information technology companies, he added. — KUNA

Kuwait urges WTO to recognize Arabic as an official language BALI: Kuwaiti Minister of Commerce and Industry Anas Al-Saleh urged here yesterday all WTO member states to throw weight behind an overture urging a recognition of Arabic as an official WTO language.

Addressing the 9th WTO Ministerial Council, held in Bali in Indonesia, the minister said that such a move, once approved, would largely boost Kuwait’s involvement in WTO activities, and promote communications between Arab civil societies and the multilateral trading system.

The Kuwaiti minister also called on W TO members to back the Arab League’s WTO observer status membership bid in order to draw more Arab attention to WTO affairs, thus contributing to the implementation of WTO resolutions and agreements.

He said the Kuwaiti government is seeking to overhaul all trade laws and legislations in a bid to create a congenial business and investment atmosphere that can attract local and foreign investors.

He reiterated his country’s support for expansion in the provision of technical assistance to developing and least developed countries (LDCs).

Al-Saleh stressed the significance of the multilateral trading system as the most optimum safeguard for stable and unrestricted trade, and economic growth and development.

The minister welcomed Yemen as a new WTO member, voicing confidence that this Arab country would contribute to the fulfillment of WTO goals.

He also congratulated the new W TO Director-General Roberto Azevedo of Brazil, wishing him best of luck in his new duty.

The ministerial conference, the top most decision-making body of the WTO, usually meets once every two years, and includes all members of the WTO. The WTO ministerial conference was last held in Geneva in December 2011.

The 159-member WTO is a global international organization that sets out rules for world trade. —- KUNA

KUWAIT: The Foreign Ministry concluded a training course on human rights organized in cooperation with the international law sector at Kuwait University’s Faculty of Law. Undersecretary Khalid Al-Jarallah said in a speech at the event’s conclusion that “we are required to interact with human right issues in accordance with our international commitments on that regard as well as Kuwait’s membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Volunteerism reflects rectitude, philanthropy International Volunteer Day marked today KUWAIT: Voluntary work is a humanitarian deed that can gauge social solidarity and cohesion and show the real meaning of goodness, philanthropy and kindness. Given the paramount significance of voluntary work and its positive effect on the community, the UN General Assembly launched the International Volunteer Day (IVD) to be celebrated on December 5. The IVD is a chance for volunteer organizations and individual volunteers to promote their contributions to development at local, national and international levels.

IVD was established by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly through Resolution 40/212 on December 17, 1985. Since then, governments, the UN system and civil society organizations have successfully joined volunteers around the world to celebrate the Day on December 5. Speaking to KUNA, the chief of the youth and volunteers department of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) Musaid Al-Enezi said volunteerism plays an effective role in promoting and developing the community and boosting loyalty.

Voluntary work brings happiness to volunteers for involvement in the alleviation of the pains and sufferings of many people, creates a chance for interested people to share experiences and establishes a firm base of good behaviors, he said.

Volunteerism also supports governmental activities in the community, improves the level of social services and reduces social problems and troubles, Enezi opined. “We have to promote voluntary work in the society by encouraging young people to get involved in volunteerism, provide them with necessary training and inculcate in them the feeling of national responsibility

towards their society,” he said.

On her part, Secretary-General of the Kuwaiti Women Voluntary Society for Community Service Tayiba Al-Heed, also speaking to KUNA, said volunteerism is a system of values, principles, ethics, standards, symbols and practices that are pertinent to goodness and philanthropy. Voluntary work in general requires effort, money and time in order to notch up societal purposes and services, she said, regarding it as a right ground to draw up

the role of young people in national development.

She stressed the significance of volunteering to individuals and communities together as it plays a favorable role in the improvement of economic and social levels and optimum investment of leisure. Considering it a “humanitarian practice” to serve the community, Heed said volunteerism is a shining landmark of the philanthropy and rectitude of the Kuwaiti people. — KUNA

MPs slam traffic chief over ‘tax’ KUWAIT: MPs demanded a ‘firm stand’ from the government regarding statements made by Interior Ministry Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs, Maj Gen Abdulfattah Al-Ali, who recently announced that a study has been approved to take fees from a Kuwaiti citizen who wishes to register more than two cars under his or her name.

“Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah is asked to put an end to Al-Ali’s arbitrariness”, MP Husain Al-Quwai’an said in a statement to Annahar daily. The lawmaker further described the undersecretary’s performance as ‘questionable’ and said that the proposed decision was “illegal and goes against the basics of human rights”.

“Al-Ali wants to collect taxes from citizens when tax-related decisions are the parliament’s responsibility”, he said. Al-Quwai’an also criti-

cized Al-Ali for “abuse of power”, accusing the senior official of “taking arbitrar y actions against taxi drivers” and “orders traffic offenders to be remanded in police custody in violation of the law”.

Meanwhile, MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji described Al-Ali’s tax statements as “provocative”, demanding clarifications from the Interior Minister.

In other news, Al-Watan reported yesterday quoting an “interior ministry insider” who confirmed that the General Traffic Department is considering a study to open the left shoulder of highways to drivers while keeping the right shoulder for exclusive emergency use. The study was based on an experiment carried a the King Abdul-Aziz Highway and helped cut the time taken to drive from Fahaheel to Kuwait City by half, said the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

Asian man found dead in Mahboulah labour camp Maid injured in South Surra KUWAIT: An Asian worker was found dead in Mahboulah in an apparent suicide. Police arrived to the scene following an emergency call reporting that a worker had committed suicide at a labor camp in the area. They found the man hanging dead from a rope attached to his room’s ceiling.

Crime scene investigators were summoned to carry out investigations before the body was taken to the forensic department. A case was filed for investigations.

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Dive Team removed 15 concrete and steel bases that were exposed at the Kuwait Towers beach following the heavy rains. The operation was carried out recently in cooperation with the Kuwait Municipality.

Suicide attempt A woman was hospitalized following a suicide attempt in Sulaibikhat. The family of the 20-yearold rushed her to Sabah Hospital after they found her unconscious inside her room with an empty bottle of medicine nearby. She underwent a gastric lavage procedure after the diagnoses report indicated that she suffered complications of a medication overdose. A case was filed for investigations.

Call for action against infectious diseases DUBAI: Health experts have called for better education and improved living conditions for workers coming to the GCC amid startling figures that show 25 percent of the two million expatriates which arrive in the Gulf on average every year suffer from an infectious disease.

The figures, provided by the Dubai Health Authority to raise awareness ahead of the Arab Health Congress next month, show the range of diseases include influenza, chicken pox, hepatitis, TB, malaria, sexually transmitted diseases, food borne disease and fecal-oral transmission diseases.

Dr Wasif Muhammad Alam, Director, Public Health and Safety, Dubai Health Authority, said the figures related mostly to expatriates from developing countries such as India and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, with chicken pox, food-borne diseases and influenza the biggest concern.

He said a lack of education and no knowledge of preventative care and “common sense” hygiene such as washing hands and safe storage of food was to blame.

However, he also singled out housing conditions where six to eight men were sometimes sleeping in the same room as contributing to the spread of disease.

Dr Alam said he did not have a breakdown, but “assumed” the rates were “about the same” across the GCC countries, because the population mix of workers from developing countries was similar.

“It is high considering the fact all these workers who come in the Gulf countries have almost no education, so they have no knowledge of... how to protect themselves from infectious diseases,” he told Arabian Business. “If somebody has it then it spreads quite easily, because they have very little sense of how to keep themselves away from such infections.”

Dr Alam, who said he was not worried about expats from western countries where

health standards were higher, said better screening programs for deadly diseases such as HIV, Tuberculosis and Hepatitis in Asian and African countries and in the GCC had “dramatically reduced” infection rates of the three diseases.

However, for other infectious diseases more awareness programs for both employers and workers were needed to bring down the rates, along with better living conditions.

Dr Alam did not believe expanding the screening program was the solution, saying it was not cost effective to screen for every disease and education was instead needed.

He said plans by Dubai to introduce mandatory health insurance from next year would likely encourage more expats to seek out health care, including preventative care such as flu vaccines.

“Employers were not giving them the health coverage and so they were left out from getting early on treatment and periodic medical examinations,” he said. “Now, with this new policy each one of those and every employers has to give health insurance for these workers.”

Rasha Salama, Senior Specialist, Public Health, DHA, said while standards of healthcare were generally high in Dubai, communicable diseases were still a concern and plans were ongoing to control and eradicate them.

“Early warning of emerging and reemerging infections depends on our ability to identify unusual patterns and occurrences as early as possible,” she said.

“Information exchange and collaboration with GCC countries is, therefore, essential.”

Emerging Diseases of Public Health: Strategies and Interventions Conference will take place as part of the Arab Health Exhibition & Congress on Jan 27 and 28 at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre.

KUWAIT: Dina Al-Ateeqi presenting a special trophy to the bank.

CBK sponsors World Disabled Day at Jaza’er Girls School KUWAIT: Within its activities in community service designed to provide constant care and support to all society sects, especially the disabled and those with special needs, the Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) recently sponsored the World Disabled Day Festival organized by Al-Jaza’er Secondary School for girls of the capital educational area under the title of “Know Me Better, Appreciate Me Better”.

Commenting on the event, CBK’s assis-

tant general and manager PR, Amani AlWera stressed that CBK always builds bridges to communicate with various society sects all year long not only on the disabled day. “This category of people needs our aid and assistance to overcome their disabilities and integrate in communal activities”, she stressed. On her part, the school director, Dina Al-Ateeqi expressed appreciation for CBK’s sponsorship and presented a special trophy to the bank.

GCC festival for disabled displays successful work MANAMA: The third GCC festival for People with Special Needs is an opportunity to showcase successful theatrical works and promote the inclusive culture which engages people with disabilities, and eases up their social integration, Bahraini Deputy Premier Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa said Tuesday.

Sheikh Ali made his remarks in a speech during the opening ceremony of the festival at the Cultural Hall. Sheikh Ali expressed his delight and stressed importance of the event which sheds light on people with special needs, an important segment of the society. He affirmed keenness by the government, led by Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa to care for

people with disabilities.

The Bahraini official pointed out the Government’s efforts to ensure physical disabilities does not hamper creativity and innovation, stressing in this regard educational and training opportunities available for the disabled to integrate all sectors of the labor market. Sheikh Ali also stressed importance on the programs and projects initiated by Social Development Ministry as well as efforts to ensure the success of the 3rd GCC Theatrical Festival for the Disabled.

The festival which runs until December 10th, highlights key issues relation to the protection of the disabled’s rights as stipulated in international human rights treaties and covenants. — KUNA

Maid injured A domestic helper was injured after she fell from a high place at her employer’s house in a case filed as an accident according to preliminary investigations. The incident was reported in South Surra as the maid was taken in an ambulance to the Farwaniya Hospital where she was diagnosed with multiple broken bones and bruises. Her employer said during questioning that she lost her balance and fell while cleaning a window. A case was filed.

Fatal crash A construction worker died in an accident that happened on his way out of a construction site in Mutlaa. The incident took place Monday night as the worker was driving along the Mutlaa Road when his vehicle lost balance and overturned.

Paramedics pronounced the 32-year-old dead at the scene soon after arriving in response to an emergency call. The body was taken to the forensic department after crime scene investigators examined the crash site. A case was filed to investigate the circumstances which led to the accident.

Wife beater Jahra police are looking to arrest an area resident to face domestic abuse charges that his wife

pressed against him. The Egyptian woman approached local police and gave them a medical report from the Jahra Hospital which showed diagnoses of several contusions. She said that she suffered the injuries after her husband, also Egyptian, had ‘brutally assaulted’ her following a dispute. The man is being summoned for questioning.

Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti woman filed a case against her husband and accused him of verbal abuse. In her statements to South Surra police station officers, the woman said that the Kuwaiti man repeatedly offends her in front of their children and maid, which left her with ‘deep psychological damage’. The husband is being summoned to answer to the accusations.

‘Imitator’ arrested A man faces several charges following his arrest when he first jumped a red traffic light before police found he was a cross dresser. Traffic patrol officers had pulled the man over after seeing him running the red light. Initially, the officers thought that the driver was a woman judging by his apparel, and found out about his gender after seeing his driving license. The man was taken to the Criminal Investigations General Department to face charges that include ‘imitating the opposite sex’.

Angry driver Two paramedics filed a case against a man they said had prevented them from taking a

patient to the hospital. The paramedics had arrived at a building in Mubarak Al-Kabeer following an emergency call reporting that a man had a seizure. They stopped the ambulance behind a car and went to take the patient, but found out when they returned that the car owner had moved the ambulance and confiscated its key. Eventually, bystanders volunteered to take the patient to Adan Hospital after the angry driver refused to hand over the keys to the ambulance until police arrived. Officers escorted the Kuwaiti man to the area’s police station where the paramedics pressed charges.

Baby abducted Investigations are ongoing in a case filed by a Kuwaiti woman who accused her husband of abducting their child in cooperation with his mother. In her statements to police, the woman said that the incident took place in an Arab country where she takes university classes. She said that her mother-in-law arrived to spend a few days in the apartment where she stayed with her husband and child. She added that she discovered later that her husband and mother-in-law disappeared with her baby, and concluded that they abducted the child and went back home. The woman headed to a Hawally police station immediately after she arrived at Kuwait International Airport, as she told police that she booked a ticket immediately after discovering the ‘plot’.

Al-Najjar elected chief of Arab Human Rights Fund board KUWAIT: Board of Trustees of the Arab Human Rights Fund selected Dr Ghanem Al-Najjar, of Kuwait, as chairman, a fund official source said yesterday.

He added that Al-Najjar, an international human rights expert, was selected during the board meeting in its Beirut headquarters early this week. The source said the fund, an independent donor organization, was keen on

selecting the members of the board of trustees and its administrative from the Arab countries.

The Arab Human Rights Fund was established in 2008. It aims at increasing financial resources to protect human rights as well as encouraging social justice in the Arab world.

The fund backs small Arab human rights associations. The fund provides 137 donations to 106 bodies in 20 Arab countries. — KUNA

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

Children, pregnant woman among 12 dead in CAR unrest

Biden seeks to calm China air zone tensions

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KIEV: People shout slogans during rally supporting Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych organized by the rulling Regions Party in front of the parliament in Kiev yesterday. Ukraine PM Mykola Azarov warns opposition to halt ‘escalation’. — AFP

Ex-leaders back anti-Yanukovych protests German FM says, 28-nation bloc still keen on Ukraine joining EU KIEV: Ukraine’s three former presidents yesterday made an unexpected joint show of support for mass protests against the government’s decision to reject a historic pact with the EU. The move piled pressure on President Viktor Yanukovych as his government tried to stamp out the biggest protests since the 2004 Orange Revolution by warning demonstrators they could be held criminally responsible.

As thousands kept up a permanent presence in the heart of the capital Kiev, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the 28-nation bloc was still keen on Ukraine joining. “The gates of the European Union are still open. Ukraine has to be on board in Europe and the offers from Europe are still valid,” Westerwelle told reporters, before heading to the heart of the protests on Independence Square.

With Ukraine in need of cash to shore up its finances, Yanukovych pressed on with a three-day visit to China, which could net significant financial deals. In a blow to the president, former leaders united to voice support for the protests.

“We express solidarity with the peaceful civic actions of hundreds of thousands of young Ukrainians,” said a statement from Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko.

“For the first time, the Ukrainian people have come out on the streets with an apolitical demand that has unprecedented mass support,” said the statement. Kravchuk, Ukraine’s first president, and the staunchly pro-Western Yushchenko have always been broadly supportive of the opposition. However the involvement of the wily Kuchma will be seen as a particular blow for Yanukovych, as he retains close contacts with the nation’s powerful oligarchs.

As pro-EU demonstrators blockaded the seat of government, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the fact he had survived a vote of no confidence the day earlier showed it was time for protests to wind down.

“I am announcing a call to stop an escalation of political tensions,” Azarov said at the first government meeting since the crisis began more than a week ago. “The reasons for streets protests have been exhausted,” he said. “I would like to tell people: your leaders are putting you up to a crime,” he said. “They will try to hide behind lawmaker immunity. But you will have no one to hide behind.”

The demonstrations erupted in Ukraine after the government refused to sign a key political and trade agree-

ment with the EU under pressure from Russia. The protesters’ fury was amplified by a police crackdown on a rally on Saturday which saw several hundred people take refuge in a monastery.

On Sunday, hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Kiev and western Ukraine in protests that degenerated into unprecedented clashes with police.

After the violence subsided, the opposition set up a tent city on Kiev’s iconic Independence Square where food and clothing are readily available, pop music blares out round the clock and black-robed priests lead protesters in prayer.

The protestors have effectively seized control of the square, erecting barricades at its main entrances scrawled with anti-Yanukovych graffiti and no member of the security forces in sight.

Seeking to maintain a balance between Russia and the EU, the Ukrainian government said it wanted talks with both Brussels and Moscow. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, whose government wants Ukraine to join a Russian-led customs union, on Wednesday received a Ukrainian delegation led Yury Boiko, a first deputy prime minister in charge of gas talks.

Separately, chief of energy state giant Gazprom Alexei Miller said Ukraine still owed Russia more than $2 billion for gas supplied to Ukraine from August to November.

Ukrainian officials were also in talks to send another delegation to Brussels but EU officials appeared to be in no hurry to commit to a firm date.

The political crisis in Ukraine is expected to top the agenda of a two-day meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe that opens in Kiev today. Helga Schmid, deputy to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, is expected to meet with both the authorities and the opposition.

Yanukovych arrived on a visit to China which is due to last until December 6, holding talks in Xian with regional officials before moving on for an expected visit to Beijing.

The opposition has vowed to keep up the protests until their demands for the resignation of the government and early polls are met.

Supports of Yanukovych held a counter rally in his home stronghold of Donetsk, mustering around 10,000 people, an AFP correspondent said. In a boost for the president, the government survived an opposition no-confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday, with the motion mustering just 186 of the 226 votes required to pass. — AFP

Kidnapped Al-Arabiya reporter walks free in Philippines ZAMBOANGA: A reporter with the Pan-Arab Al-Arabiya news channel has walked free from the southern Philippines jungle 18 months after he was abducted by Islamist militants, Filipino police said late yesterday.

Bakr Atyani, a Jordanian, was found by a police patrol on the remote southern Philippine island of Jolo, more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) south of Manila, police in nearby Patikul town said.

“We found him walking along the road... he’s lost some weight,” Chief Inspector Chris Gutierrez told AFP in a telephone interview from the southern port of Zamboanga. He said the former hostage was taken to a government hospital in the provincial capital, also called Jolo, for a precautionary medical check-up. Gutierrez said the police patrol did not see any of Atyani’s kidnappers, and there was no firefight.

Atyani and two Filipino crew members went missing in June last year in Jolo, a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf, a small Islamist movement that has been blamed for a string of terrorist attacks and kidnappings of foreigners in the Philippines.

In February the militants released the two crew members, who said they were separated from the Jordanian on the fifth day of their captivity. The Dubai-based broadcaster Al-Arabiya, said in a statement Wednesday that he was handed over to the Filipino authorities by the kidnappers.

“The Philippine authorities are now responsible for ensuring his safe return to his family in Jordan,” the broadcaster said. Jordanian foreign ministry spokeswoman Sabah al-Rafie said Atyani was taken to a hospital in Jolo after being freed yesterday afternoon, according to a statement to Petra state news agency. She thanked the Philippines government for “efforts” that resulted in his release. The Abu Sayyaf group was founded with seed money from Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network to fight for an independent Islamic state, though it later turned into a criminal gang. US Special Forces have been rotating through Jolo and other parts of the southern Philippines for more than a decade to train local troops battling the group, which is on Washington’s list of “foreign terrorist organisations”. — AFP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Rockets kill 18 in govt-held areas of Syria’s Aleppo Information Minister insists Assad would remain president DAMASCUS: Rockets killed at least 18 people yesterday in regime-held areas of Syria’s main northern city of Aleppo, a focal point of the 33month conflict pitting loyalists against rebels.

On the political front, a Syrian minister said President al-Assad would remain president and lead any transition agreed upon at Geneva peace talks planned for next month, despite the opposition’s demands he be excluded from the process.

The multiple rocket attack on the Furqan and Meridian districts of Aleppo, the country’s pre-war commercial capital, also wounded at least 30 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

State television said at least 17

stalemate across much of war-torn Syria. The international community has become increasingly alarmed about the potential spillover into neighbouring countries of the war that has killed an estimated 126,000 people since it erupted in March 2011. And yesterday’s rocket attack came as Hezbollah said one of its top leaders was killed near Beirut at a time of soaring sectarian tensions in Lebanon over the conflict in its larger neighbour.

“The Islamic resistance announces the death of one of its leaders, the martyr Hassan Hawlo al-Lakiss, who was assassinated near his house in the Hadath region” east of Beirut, Hezbollah said.

It blamed Israel for the assassination of Lakiss, who was part of the

ALEPPO: A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) yesterday shows damaged vehicles following a multiple rocket attack on the Furqan and Meridian districts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. Rockets killed at least 18 people in regime-held areas of Syria’s main northern city, a focal point of the 33-month conflict pitting loyalists against rebels. — AFP

people were killed in what it described as an attack by “terrorists,” the regime term for the rebels fighting to oust Assad. Aleppo has been one of the main battlegrounds of the Syrian conflict since rebel fighters seized large swathes of the city in an offensive launched in July last year.

But despite persistent skirmishes between the loyalist and rebel forces, the front lines have changed little in more than a year, reflecting a

powerful Shiite movement’s secretive top leadership. “Direct accusation is aimed of course against the Israeli enemy which had tried to eliminate our mar tyred brother again and again and in several places but had failed, until yesterday (Tuesday) evening. “ This enemy must bear full responsibility for and all the consequences of this heinous crime,” Hezbollah said on its Al-Manar televi-

sion channel, without elaborating.

Foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor described the charges as “yet another Pavlovian response from Hezbollah, which makes automatic accusations before even thinking about what’s actually happened.”

“Israel has nothing to do with this,” he told AFP. Hezbollah openly admitted seven months ago that it is fighting alongside Assad’s forces, fuelling sectarian tensions in Lebanon, a country bitterly divided over the war.

The conflict flared nearly three years ago with peaceful pro-democracy protests inspired by the Arab Spring but escalated into a full-scale civil war after Assad’s regime launched a brutal crackdown.

Today hundreds of armed groups, including powerful jihadist brigades affiliated with Al-Qaeda, are battling both the regime and each other, complicating any efforts to reach a political settlement.

Yesterday, Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi insisted Assad would remain president and lead any transition agreed at the Geneva talks scheduled for January 22. “If anyone thinks we are going to Geneva 2 to hand the keys to Damascus over (to the opposition), they might as well not go,” he said in remarks carried by the official SANA news agency. The conference is envisioned as a follow-up to the Geneva 1 meeting of June 2012, at which the two sides agreed on the formation of a transitional government without specifying what role, if any, Assad would have in it. The plan was never implemented.

The dispute over Assad’s role, and the endemic divisions among both the external opposition and rebels battling on the ground, have cast doubt over whether the two sides can even reach an agreement let alone implement it. Meanwhile, a Syrian government daily accused rebels of kidnapping a dozen nuns from a convent in the Christian town of Maalula, north of Damascus, to use them as “human shields”.

The rebels took the Syrian and Lebanese nuns to a nearby area under their control after capturing the historic town on Monday, in a case that prompted Pope Francis to call yesterday for prayers for them and others kidnapped in the conflict. —AFP

KHAN YOUNIS: Palestinian labourers straight steel reinforcement rods collected from destroyed homes in Gaza Strip yesterday in the southern town of Khan Yunis. Hundreds of Palestinians make a living by salvaging materials from homes and buildings destroyed during the November 2012 fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip lasted one week. — AFP

Smuggling cartels, militants hinder revival of Somali port KISMAYU: Al Qaeda-linked militants, drug smugglers and shadowy criminal networks stand in the way of the Somali federal government’s hopes of hiring a foreign firm to manage the lucrative but run-down southern port of Kismayu.

One of only three deep-water ports in Somalia, Kismayu’s proximity to northern Kenya and Ethiopia has for decades made it integral to a thriving business smuggling arms, sugar and increasingly narcotics across porous east African borders.

Foreign powers trying to curb militant Islam in Somalia fret about the money-spinning charcoal trade that remains a big earner for the Islamist group al Shabaab. The UN Security Council has banned charcoal exports but the trade continues unabated in areas where the government holds little influence.

Rehabilitating the port is not only essential for generating new state revenues and creating jobs for former Islamist fighters, it is also vital to cutting off a steady flow of cash to al Shabaab, which showcased its threat to regional stability with September’s bloody attack on a Nairobi mall.

“People have been making huge amounts of money from the ports and there are huge entrenched interests,” said one Western diplomat. “If it could be run by a clean private sector provider, you would see a big increase in revenues.”

Since the onset of the civil war in 1991, rival warlords and clan militias in need of cash to prop up their fiefdoms have often waged war for the right to collect taxes and control the flow of weapons through Somalia’s Indian Ocean ports. The man now running the city and its fertile hinterlands is a former Islamist warlord Ahmed Madobe. “The president wants zero tolerance of corruption, he wants better management (but) capacity is very limited,” Abdirahman Omar Osman, spokesman for the Somali presidency, told Reuters. “Therefore foreign companies who can help us get better in terms of efficiency and fighting corruption are wanted.”

Improving Somalia’s ports is crucial to rebuilding the country and denying Islamist militants a launchpad for strikes across the region. But any firm

running Kismayu port will face powerful forces with an interest in keeping it dysfunctional.

While the gun-toting young men roaming Kismayu’s port suggest little has changed in the past two decades, a thaw in relations between the central government and local administration heralds a rare opportunity for change.

“Life in Kismayu is getting better,” said Faisal Abdiaziz, a 20-year-old labourer, who had also worked at the port when the Islamists were in charge. “My salary is now $300 and during al Shabaab it was $150,” he said next to a crumbling warehouse.

To the annoyance of Western powers, al Shabaab continues profiting from Kismayu even after Kenyan troops fighting under an African Union peacekeeping banner and Madobe’s own militia routed the militants from the port.

UN investigators monitoring the Somalia sanctions regime, said in July about 1 million sacks of charcoal worth $15 million to 16 million were exported every month from Kismayu alone in the months after Kenya and Madobe’s Ras Kamboni militia won control of the city in September 2012.

Pointing to the business interests around the port, the investigators said Kenyan troops, Ras Kamboni and al Shabaab split the charcoal profits from Kismayu port with each other despite being at war. All three deny doing so.

A second diplomat working closely with regional intelligence said there was firm evidence that huge quantities of charcoal continue to be exported despite pressure on Kenya and Madobe. “Nothing has changed,” said the diplomat.

A third diplomat added: “ The Kenyan military officials will be key to any kind of improvements to the port.”

Intelligence sources say the contraband route from Kismayu to the northern Kenyan town of Garissa has three layers, comprising sugar and electronics, hard drugs from Afghanistan and Pakistan region, as well as explosives and weapons.

A former Kenyan military officer with detailed knowledge of the smuggling routes said Kenya had since 2011 intensified checks on vehicles

crossing the border due to worries about explosives destined for al Shabaab members inside Kenya.

But he said the crackdown has only had partial success: “The volume has reduced but the business is still going on.” Western security experts say the port has become a key entry point into east Africa for Afghan narcotics.

“It’s not a port, it’s a clearing house for drugs going into Kenya,” said one Western security adviser. Abdiqani Jama, a senior adviser to Madobe, said Dubai’s DP World, the world’s third largest port operator, and six other firms had shown interest in the port, including from China, Turkey, Kenya, South Africa and the United States.

No-one from DP World was immediately available for comment. Jama said about $250 million dollars will be needed to rehabilitate the port, which is deeper than the port in the capital, Mogadishu. “As part of this deal, we will give them 25 to 50 years (concession),” Jama told Reuters in Kismayu’s windswept harbour.

Whoever takes on the port faces a huge task. The first job will be to remove two sunken Somali warships which are laden with rusting ordnance beneath the harbour ’s turquoise waters.

The port will also have to be dredged for the first time in many years to allow large ships to dock.

New warehouses are needed to replace the ruined ones dotted around the harbour.

“This port has been neglected,” said Abdulahi Hadun, who took over as port manager when al Shabaab was chased out. “It has been used almost 50 years with no additional investment.”

A Turkish company in October won a 20-year concession to run Mogadishu port, the federal government’s biggest single revenue earner.

Officials say a deal struck in August between the government and Madobe could pave the way for a similar arrangement in Kismayu.

But first the central government and regions need to agree on how to share port revenues. That will test Mogadishu’s ties with Madobe in a country where conflict has largely been driven by competition for resources and clan loyalties.—Reuters

Kerry to present security plan in Mideast visit JERUSALEM: Secretary of State John Kerry will present the outlines of a West Bank security plan in meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week, stepping up American involvement in hopes of reviving faltering Mideast peace efforts, US officials said yesterday.

The proposal will mark the first time that Kerry, who was to arrive in Israel late yesterday, has directly intervened in the talks since they began in late July.

By all accounts, the negotiations have made no progress, despite an April target date for reaching a deal.

Kerry has lots riding on the outcome of the negotiations. The sides agreed to resume talks, their first substantive dialogue in five years, under heavy pressure by Kerry, and he has repeatedly shuttled to the region and held lengthy phone conversations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in hopes of pushing them forward.

Negotiators have said discussions touched on all key issues in the longfestering conflict, primarily Israeli security concerns and possible border arrangements between Israel and a future Palestine. But they say the talks have amounted to little more than restating positions.

The Palestinians seek all of the West

Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, areas captured by Israel in 1967, for an independent state. They say that Israel’s pre-1967 boundaries should be the basis for a future border, allowing for slight modifications through negotiated land swaps. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects a return to the 1967 lines, and has signaled he wants to retain large parts of the West Bank. Netanyahu also opposes any shared control over east Jerusalem, the Palestinians hoped-for capital. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

The US diplomatic officials said Kerry and his security adviser, retired Gen. John Allen, have been working on security issues in hopes of breaking the deadlock. They believe the absence of any concrete plans so far is a main reason for the lack of progress.

The American officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Kerry has not yet presented his proposals. The Haaretz daily said that Allen would present his ideas at a meeting with Netanyahu on Thursday. After that meeting, Kerry is scheduled to head to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It said the American thinking is that if Israeli security concerns can be met, other issues,

such as borders, will then fall into place.

One US official said Allen “has been working closely on the ground with his Israeli counterparts.” The official said the Americans realize that security is “paramount” as Israel contemplates taking “calculated risks for peace.”

A US official traveling with Kerry in Moldova yesterday said the ideas were not a “plan” that could be accepted or rejected. Instead, it was described as part of an ongoing effort to help ease Israeli security concerns. The official said many of the ideas have already been raised with the Israelis in prior meetings.

The officials refused to provide details on Allen’s work, including whether it might include stationing international forces along the West Bank border with Jordan. Netanyahu has insisted that Israel maintain a security presence in the West Bank as part of any final deal. Mohammed Ishtayeh, a former Palestinian peace negotiator, said he resigned last month because the gaps with Israel were getting wider. “We went to these talks to avoid the blame game, we know the result, there will be no result,” he said. “Israel wants to annex the West Bank ... It wants to give us some local autonomy over the people and annex the land.”—AP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Obama’s Kenyan-born uncle allowed to remain in US BOSTON: President Barack Obama’s Kenyan-born uncle, who ignored a deportation order more than two decades ago, was granted permission to stay in the US on Tuesday. Judge Leonard Shapiro made the decision after Onyango Obama, 69, testified that he had lived in the US for 50 years, been a hard worker, paid income tax and been arrested only once.

Asked about his family in the US on Tuesday, he said, “I do have a nephew.”

Asked to name the nephew, he said, “Barack Obama, he’s the president of the United States.” Onyango Obama, the half brother of the president’s late father, has

allegedly told police, “I think I will call the White House.” Asked about the exchange by a prosecutor Tuesday, he said he might have said that, but he couldn’t recall.

Earlier this year, the Board of Immigration Appeals sent the case to the Executive Office for Immigration Review for reassessment. Margaret Wong, Obama’s Cleveland-based immigration attorney, called him a “wonderful older gentleman.”

“He has earned his privilege to stay in the United States. He has been here for 50 years,” she said Tuesday before the hearing. The White House said it expected the case to be handled like any other

lived in the US since the 1960s. He was ordered to leave the country in 1992, but remained.

Shapiro cited a law that entitles immigrants who are “out of status” to become permanent residents if they arrived in the US before 1972, maintained continuous residence and are of good moral character. Onyango Obama testified he came to the US from his native Kenya in 1963 and has not been back since. He called America the “land of opportunities.”

His immigration status did not become public until his arrest for drunken driving in 2011 in Framingham, just west of Boston. After his arrest, he

immigration case. In the drunken driving case, Obama admitted to sufficient facts, meaning he did not plead guilty but acknowledged prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. A judge continued the case for one year without a finding, saying the charge would be dismissed if Obama did not get arrested again during that time. Wong said Obama has successfully completed that program.

In the president’s memoir, “Dreams from My Father,” he writes about his 1988 trip to Kenya and refers to an Uncle Omar, who matches Onyango Obama’s background and has the same date of

birth. He is the second Obama family member to be found living illegally in the United States. His sister and the president’s aunt, Zeituni Onyango, was granted asylum in 2010 after her first asylum request in 2002 was rejected and she was ordered deported in 2004.

She did not leave the country and continued to live in public housing in Boston. Her status was revealed just days before Obama was elected in November 2008. At the time, then-candidate Obama said he did not know his aunt was living here illegally and that he believes laws covering the situation should be followed. — AP

Lawyer: NY Engineer had ‘daze’ before train crash Investigators awaiting results of drug tests

MINNESOTA: Sam Flaifel, left, Dave Warner, center, and Pat Riestenberg, clear snow from 400 cars at Luther Brookfield Chevrolet/GMC, yesterday in Brooklyn Center, Minn. A wintry storm pushing through the Rockies and Midwest is bringing bitterly cold temperatures and treacherous driving conditions blamed in at least six deaths as it threatens crops as far south as California. —AP

Cold snap felt across western half of US HELENA: A wintry storm pushing through the western half of the country is bringing bitterly cold temperatures that prompted safety warnings for residents in the Rockies and threatened crops as far south as California.

The jet stream is much farther south than normal, allowing the cold air to push in from the Arctic and drop temperatures by 20 to 40 degrees below normal levels, AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines said Tuesday.

Areas of Montana and the Dakotas were forecast to reach lows in the minus-20s, while parts of California could see the thermometer drop to the 20s. The icy arctic blast was expected to be followed by another one later in the week, creating an extended period of cold weather that hasn’t been seen since the late 1990s, meteorologists said.

Officials warned residents to protect themselves against frostbite if they are going to be outside for any length of time.

“When it gets this cold, you don’t need 30, 40 mile-per-hour winds to get that wind chill down to dangerous levels. All it takes is a little breeze,” Kines said.

The storm hit the northern Rockies on Monday and Tuesday, dumping up to 2 feet of snow in the mountains and in

Yellowstone National Park. Snow and ice created hazardous driving conditions throughout the West, and were a factor in a four-vehicle crash in central Montana that killed 21-year-old Chelsea Stanfield of Great Falls.

Authorities said Stanfield was driving too fast for the conditions. The weather also closed a stretch of Interstate 90 on Tuesday between Sheridan and Buffalo, Wyo. In eastern Oregon, authorities closed much of Interstate 84 as trucks jackknifed in the snow. Transportation authorities in Utah and Nevada reported dozens of crashes.

In the Dakotas, cattle ranchers who lost thousands of animals in an October blizzard were bracing for the latest wintry weather, with wind chills of 40 degrees below zero expected by week’s end. Cattle should be able to withstand the harsh conditions better than they did the Oct. 4 blizzard, said Julie Ellingson, executive vice president of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association.

“Cattle are a hardy species; they can endure a lot,” she said. “With that October storm, they didn’t have their winter hair coat yet. They’ve acquired some of that extra hair that will help insulate them better.”—AP

YONKERS: An engineer whose speeding commuter train ran off the rails along a curve, killing four people, experienced a hypnotic-like “daze” and nodded at the controls before suddenly realizing something was wrong and hitting the brakes, a lawyer said.

Attorney Jeffrey Chartier accompanied engineer William Rockefeller to his interview with National Transportation Safety Board investigators Tuesday and described the account Rockefeller gave. Chartier said the engineer experienced a nod or “a daze,” almost like road fatigue or the phenomenon sometimes called highway hypnosis. He couldn’t say how long it lasted.

What Rockefeller remembers is “operating the train, coming to a section where the track was still clear - then, all of a sudden, feeling something was wrong and hitting the brakes,” Chartier said. “... He felt something was not right, and he hit the brakes.”

He called Rockefeller “a guy with a stellar record who, I believe, did nothing wrong.” “You’ve got a good guy and an accident,” he said. “... A terrible accident is what it is.” Rockefeller “basically nodded,” said Anthony Bottalico, leader of the rail employees union, relating what he said the engineer told him.

“He had the equivalent of what we all have when we drive a car,” Bottalico said. “That is, you sometimes have a momentary nod or whatever that might be.” NTSB member Earl Weener said it was too soon to say whether the accident was caused by human error. But he said investigators have found no problems with the train’s brakes or rail signals.

Alcohol tests on the train’s crew members were negative, and investigators were awaiting the results of drug tests, the NTSB said. Federal investigators wouldn’t comment on Rockefeller’s level of alertness around the time of the Sunday morning wreck in the Bronx. They said late Tuesday they had removed Bottalico’s union, the Association of Commuter Rail Employees, as a participant in the investigation over a breach of confidentiality after he publicly discussed information related to it.

Two law enforcement officials said the engineer told police at the scene that his mind was wandering before he realized the train was in trouble and by then it was too late to do anything about it. One of the officials said Rockefeller described himself as being “in a daze” before the wreck.

The officials, who were briefed on the engineer’s comments, weren’t authorized to discuss

NEW YORK: Passengers exit a Hudson Line Metro-North train at New York’s Grand Central Terminal as service resumed, yesterday. Service on Metro-North’s Hudson Line had been shut down after a fatal New York City derailment on Sunday, Dec 1. Officials expect 98 percent of service to be restored to the affected line yesterday, New York Gov Andrew Cuomo said. —AP the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Questions about Rockefeller’s role mounted rapidly after investigators disclosed on Monday that the Metro-North Railroad commuter train jumped the tracks after going into a curve at 82 mph, or nearly three times the 30 mph speed limit.

Rockefeller, 46, has worked for the railroad for 15 years and has been an engineer for 10, Weener said. He lives in Germantown, 40 miles south of Albany. On the day of the crash, Rockefeller was on the second day of a five-day work week, reporting at 5:04 am after a typical nine-hour shift the day before, Weener said.

“There’s every indication that he would have had time to get full restorative sleep,” he said.

Weener didn’t address specifically what the engineer was doing in the hours before his shift started but said part of the investigation will be creating a 72-hour timeline of his activities. Chartier said Rockefeller had gotten “a proper amount of sleep,” having gone to bed at 8:30 the previous night to wake up at 3:30 a.m. for his shift. He said Rockefeller, before going to bed, had been spending time at home.

Children, pregnant woman among 12 dead in CAR unrest BANGUI: Vigilantes hacked 12 civilians to death north of Bangui as communal tensions rose ahead of a UN vote authorising force to stop the Central African Republic’s descent into chaos.

On the eve of the expected adoption by the UN Security Council of a resolution giving French and African troops the go-ahead, a military source said yesterday that Christian militiamen had attacked Muslim herders.

“Among the victims were children and a disembowelled pregnant woman,” the source told AFP, adding that at least 10 other children were hospitalised in Bangui with deep gashes to heads and limbs.

A nurse there said: “It’s not uncommon to see people with machete wounds. But so many at a time? We’ve never seen anything like this in Central Africa before.”

The attack took place late Monday around 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the capital and the victims were all from the semi-nomadic

Fula tribe. Survivors and security officials said Christian vigilantes formed to fend off marauding gangs of mostly Muslim ex-rebels were responsible for the slaughter.

Since he toppled Francois Bozize in March, Central Africa’s new ruler Michel Djotodia has struggled to rein in members of the now-dissolved Seleka group that swept him to power nine months ago.

Rogue former rebels turned warlords have set up little fiefdoms and sown terror in villages, killing, looting and raping with impunity.

In Damara, east of the capital, an estimated 30,000 people have fled Seleka attacks over the past few days.

The increasingly sectarian nature of the violence has heightened international fears that the nation was on the brink of all-out civil war.

Former colonial power France has spearheaded efforts to stop the rot in a nation already among the world’s poorest and now facing a

BRASILIA: Brazilian indigenous people from several tribes take part in a demonstration against the new law of demarcation of indigenous reserves, in Brasilia yesterday. “Contrary to the claims of the government, the new law perpetuates the non-demarcation of indigenous lands, in turn weakens the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), and draws a frightening picture of exacerbation of conflicts,” says a realese of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), the organization that proposed the protest. — AFP

humanitarian catastrophe. The resolution it put forward is expected to be passed by the UN Security Council on Thursday.

The move will authorize the African regional force MISCA and a small French contingent to muscle in and restore stability.

France has 600 troops already in Bangui and around 350 poised to cross the Cameroonian border, while MISCA has 2,500 men on the ground and another 1,000 on the way.

Paris is Saturday holding a mini-summit on the crisis, with 40 African leaders and UN chief Ban Ki-moon due to attend.

French and US officials have warned that a genocide could be in the making if the sectarian violence that has plagued the Christian-majority country since Djotodia became its first Muslim president was allowed to further escalate.

The intervention of French troops in particular is expected to quickly scatter gangs with modest weaponry but, in the interim, communal tensions are soaring.

Bangui has become a tinderbox where people of Chadian descent and other Muslims feel threatened and fear a wave of attacks “avenging” the crimes of Seleka gunmen.

“Those Chadian dogs are going to pay,” an elderly Bangui resident told an AFP reporter with a virulence that belied his quiet manner.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group think tank warned in a briefing paper on Monday that the city was on the brink.

“The combination of religious tensions and powerless transitional authorities is the perfect recipe for further deadly clashes between local populations and the various Seleka factions, especially in Bangui,” it said.

The resolution to be voted today in New York also provides for the creation of a commission to investigate human rights and an arms embargo.

It will also request a UN report on the possible transformation of MISCA into a UN peacekeeping operation.

Central Africa is surrounded by several other chronically unstable countries and has struggled with a series of coups and rebel uprisings since gaining its independence in 1960. Its soil holds great mineral wealth but it has remained largely untapped and its nearly half of its population of 4.5 million needs assistance. —AFP

Rockefeller had begun running that route on Nov. 17, two weeks before the wreck. Bottalico said Rockefeller was familiar with the route and qualified to run it. He said Rockefeller had switched just weeks earlier from the night shift to the day shift, “so he did have a change in his hours and his circadian rhythms with regard to sleep.”

The New York Police Department is conducting its own investigation, with help from the Bronx district attorney’s office, in the event the derailment becomes a criminal case. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday the engineer could be faulted for the train’s speed if nothing else.

“Certainly, we want to make sure that that operator is disciplined in an appropriate way,” he said. “There’s such a gross deviation from the norm.” A former supervisor, Michael McLendon, who retired from the railroad about a year ago, called Rockefeller “a stellar employee.”

McLendon said he was stunned when he heard about the crash, shortly after opening his mail to find a Christmas card from Rockefeller and his wife. “I said, ‘Well, I can’t imagine Billy making a mistake,’” McLendon said. “Not intentionally, by any stretch of the imagination.”—AP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Germany probes unsolved killings for far-right motive BERLIN: Germany will review about 750 unsolved murders and attempted killings dating back more than two decades to assess whether they were motivated by far-right extremism, officials said yesterday.

An initial police review of 3,300 unsolved violent crimes between 1990 and 2011 had found that 746 of them, with 849 victims, will need a second look to see whether they were right-wing hate crimes, said the interior ministry.

The outcome is expected in the second quarter of next year, said a ministry spokesman, who cautioned that the review does not mean “that they are indeed crimes motivated by right-wing extremism”.

Current statistics say about 60 people were killed in right-wing crimes since Germany’s reunification in 1990. Critics have long charged that official statistics underestimate the incidence of racist, xenophobic and other right-wing violent

attacks, and complained that states use different standards in collating the figures.

The Green Party’s parliamentary leader Katrin Goering-Eckardt on Wednesday charged that authorities had “completely misjudged” the true extent of right-wing violent crime.

The chairwoman of the anti-xenophobia Amadeu Antonio Foundation, Anetta Kahane, accused the government of playing down the issue and challenged it to “face the fact that right-wing extremist

violence is a huge problem”.

Germany was shocked by news in 2011 that a series of 10 murders of mostly Turkish immigrants was committed by a three-member neo-Nazi cell that authorities now consider a terrorist group.

Beate Zschaepe, the only surviving member of the self-styled National Socialist Underground (NSU), is now on trial in Munich over the killing spree, which also claimed the lives of an ethnic Greek man and a German police woman.

The review announced yesterday was sparked by the NSU case, which also motivated a new legal push launched this week by Germany’s 16 states to seek a ban of the far-right and openly racist National Democratic Party of Germany.

States interior ministers, who met Wednesday, voiced hope that the case will succeed, after an attempt a decade ago failed because evidence from undercover informants in NPD ranks was seen to have sullied the case. —AFP

Remains of 21 found near barracks in Mali Forensic team begin exhumation BAMAKO: A mass grave containing 21 skulls has been discovered near the Kati military barracks, formerly the fief of the country’s military strongman, Mali’s chief prosecutor announced yesterday.

The remains are believed to be of soldiers who opposed the leader’s rise

said around 20 soldiers were shot and killed by troops loyal to Sanogo in May 2012.

“I went there myself to the spot, and we uncovered 21 skulls, which leads us to believe that we are dealing here with 21 bodies. The place still smelled bad. There were only pieces

also be charged with assassination.

Human Rights Watch called the arrest of the feared leader a “big step for justice.”

On March 21, 2012, Sanogo led the military coup, which reversed two decades of democracy in this landlocked nation. Sanogo, at that time a

BAMAKO: Mali soldiers secure the area where a mass grave has been discovered near Diago, a small village on the outskirts of the city of Bamako, Mali, yesterday. A mass grave containing 21 skulls has been discovered near the Kati military barracks, formerly the fief of the country’s military strongman, Mali’s chief prosecutor announced yesterday. —AP to power and their discovery paves the way for Gen. Amadou Haya Sanogo to be charged with murder, said prosecutor Daniel Tessougue.

A forensic team began the exhumation on Tuesday at 6 pm and finished unearthing the bodies at around 3 am Wednesday, said Tessougue who spoke to the The Associated Press by telephone. The spot where the remains were found matches the place where witnesses

of bone, and the skulls. We also discovered metal chains inside the mass grave, which leads us to think that the people who were killed had been tied together with a chain,”Tessougue said.

In a move that has been applauded by the international community, the prosecutor arrested Sanogo last week, charging him with complicity in the kidnapping of his fellow soldiers.

Now that the bodies have been found, Tessougue says Sanogo will

captain, was backed by the rank-andfile soldiers at the Kati barracks, who marched on the presidential palace, toppling the former leader. Sanogo was opposed, however, by the elite paratroopers known as the Red Berets who made-up the presidential guard of the country’s ousted leader. When the Red Berets attempted to lead a countercoup on April 30, 2012, Sanogo responded with blunt force, organizing what human rights groups

describe as a purge of the military.

In the early morning hours of May 2, 2012, at least 20 soldiers who had taken part in the countercoup disappeared, according to a report by Human Rights Watch. The few who survived described being handcuffed and hogtied, beaten with batons, sticks, and gun butts, and kicked in the back, head, ribs and genitals.

Around 20 were placed in a military truck, where a witness said he saw them with their hands bound behind their backs, their eyes covered. The mother of one of the missing men told Human Rights watch that her son made one last phone call, saying the soldiers detaining him were arguing about whether to kill him.

For most of 2012, Sanogo instilled fear in Mali, despite the fact that he had officially stepped down and handed power to a civilian government. Although the country’s interim leader set up his office inside the presidential palace, it was clear that the real seat of power was Kati barracks, where Sanogo continued to hold court, receiving daily visits from diplomats and politicians.

This summer, Mali held its first presidential election since the coup, electing President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, known by his initials of IBK, and at first, rights groups worried that he would continue the former government’s hands-off policy regarding to Sanogo.

Anthropologist Bruce Whitehouse, an expert on Mali, says that if you looked carefully, the writing was on the wall. In early October, Sanogo was forced to move out of his fief at Kati barracks and move into a residential neighborhood in Bamako. The move undercut his ability to sow trouble, since the ex-junta leader was now removed from the rank-and-file soldiers who had backed his rise to power. In early November, the army chief of staff, a longtime Sanogo ally, was removed, another sign that Keita was not going to humor Sanogo. —AP

France’s Hollande reveals 2011 prostate operation PARIS: French President Francois Hollande revealed yesterday he had surgery in 2011 for an enlarged prostate, turning the spotlight on a condition that affects millions of men of his age worldwide.

Hollande’s office stressed that the enlargement had been benign and had had no lasting impact on the 59-year-old Socialist leader’s health. But the revelation nevertheless topped news bulletins in France, where the president’s health is a sensitive issue as a result of former leaders having covered up serious health problems for years.

The news also comes hot on the heels of the end of “Movember”, which sees men around the world grow moustaches every November to raise funds and awareness for men’s health-of which prostate issues are a big part. “ The President of the Republic Francois Hollande confirms that in February 2011, he was hospitalised

for a few days in a urology service at Cochin hospital for a benign prostatic hypertrophy,” the presidency said in a statement.

The statement said “no medical follow-up was deemed necessary after the operation,” which took place the year before he was voted in as president and before he was selected as the Socialist Party candidate.

According to the website of Britain’s National Health Service, benign prostatic hypertrophy, or prostate enlargement, is a common condition that affects older men. It is usually not a serious threat to health.

Many believe that having an enlarged prostate means having an increased risk of developing prostate cancer. But, according to medical experts, that is not the case. “Having an enlarged prostate does not increase or reduce your risk of developing prostate cancer,” said French urology professor Aurelien Descazeaud.

LE MANS: A photo taken on February 28, 2011 shows French member of Parliament Francois Hollande standing on a platform at Le Mans train station prior to a visit in Sarthe department, Center France. French President Francois Hollande revealed yesterday he was hospitalised in February 2011 to be treated for a benign enlargement of the prostate. —AFP

“When people have surgery for an enlargement, the surgeon takes the opportunity to check for any sign of cancer at the same time but the two conditions have strictly nothing to do with each other.”

The prostate, a small gland found only in men, is located between the penis and bladder.

The cause of enlargement is unknown but most experts believe it is linked to changes in hormone levels that occur as men get older. The symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate are similar to some of those linked to prostate cancer. These can include general discomfort and urinating frequently or with difficulty.

These symptoms can be relieved through medication or, as in Hollande’s case, with surgery under either a local or general anaesthetic.

History of health cover-ups Former president Francois Mitterrand, who ruled France from 1981 to 1995, knew he had prostate cancer from the beginning of his first term but kept it a secret until he was hospitalised in 1992. Mitterrand, who had also hidden the existence of a secret daughter, Mazarine, from the French people, died in 1996. Another French president, Georges Pompidou, died in 1974 while still in office, having hidden the fact he was suffering from a form of blood cancer.

Jacques Chirac-who succeeded Mitterrandsuffered a stroke in 2005, three years after he was re-elected as president, but that was made public at the time.

Hollande’s office said Tuesday that two positive health checks had been made available to the public since he came to power last year, in June 2012 and March 2013, and a number of politicians questioned whether there was any public interest in the publication of details of his health history. “The number of French men who are faced with prostate problems from around 50.... It’s quite commonplace,” Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told RTL radio. “Shouldn’t we respect this? Do we always have to put people’s private lives on display?”

Bernard Debre, a lawmaker from the opposition UMP party who is also head of the urology department at Cochin hospital, played down the procedure. “It was nothing. It’s as if we were saying: you know, Francois Hollande was operated for appendicitis when he was seven. So what?” he said. —AFP

In this image made available Tuesday Dec 3, 2013, Harrison Odjegba Okene, 2nd left, poses inside a decompression chamber with members of the DCN Diving team who saved his life after being trapped for three days underwater. Okene was working as a cook aboard a tugboat in the Atlantic Ocean off the Nigerian coast in June 2013, when a heavy swell caused the vessel to capsize and his boat sank to the sea bed, where his 11 colleagues drowned, but Harrison Okene was able to find an air pocket inside the sunken ship where he survived for nearly three days before being found by a group of South African rescue divers. —AP

Nigerian man survives three days at bottom of Atlantic LAGOS: About 100 feet down, on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, divers had already pulled four bodies out of the sunken tugboat. Then a hand appeared on a TV screen monitoring the recovery.

Everyone assumed it was another corpse, and the diver moved toward it. “But when he went to grab the hand, the hand grabbed him!”

Tony Walker, project manager for the Dutch company DCN Diving, said of the rescue in May. Harrison Odjegba Okene, the tug’s Nigerian cook, had survived for three days by breathing an ever-dwindling supply of oxygen in an air pocket. A video of Okene’s dramatic rescue http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArWGILmK CqE - was posted on the Internet more than six months after the rescue and has gone viral this week.

As the temperature dropped to freezing, Okene, dressed only in boxer shorts, recited a psalm his wife had sent him earlier by text message, sometimes called the Prayer for Deliverance. “Oh, God, by your name, save me. ... The Lord sustains my life.”

To this day, Okene believes his rescue after 72 hours underwater was the result of divine deliverance. The 11 other seamen aboard the tug Jascon 4 died. On the video, there was an exclamation of fear and shock from Okene’s rescuers, and then joy as the realization set in that this hand belonged to a survivor. “What’s that?

He’s alive! He’s alive!” a voice can be heard exclaiming.

“It was frightening for everybody,” Walker said of that moment, speaking in a telephone interview Tuesday. “For the guy that was trapped because he didn’t know what was happening. It was a shock for the diver while he was down there looking for bodies, and we (in the control room) shot back when the hand grabbed him on the screen.”

Walker said Okene couldn’t have lasted much longer. “He was incredibly lucky. He was in an air pocket, but he would have had a limited time (before) ... he wouldn’t be able to breathe anymore.” The full video of the rescue was released by DCN Diving after a request from The Associated Press. Initially, a shorter version of the rescue emerged on the Internet.

The authenticity of the video was confirmed through conversations with DCN employees in the Netherlands. The video showing Okene was also consistent with additional photos of him on the rescue ship. The AP also contacted

Okene, who confirmed the events.

Okene’s ordeal began around 4:30 a.m. on May 26. Always an early riser, he was in the toilet when the tug, one of three towing an oil tanker in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta waters, gave a sudden lurch and then keeled over.

“I was dazed and everywhere was dark as I was thrown from one end of the small cubicle to another,” Okene said in an interview with Nigeria’s Nation newspaper after his rescue. He groped his way out of the toilet and tried to find a vent, propping doors open as he moved. He discovered some tools and a life vest with two flashlights, which he stuffed into his shorts.

When he found a cabin of the sunken vessel that felt safe, he began the long wait, getting colder and colder as he played back a mental tape of his life - remembering his mother, his friends, but mostly his wife of five years, with whom he hadn’t yet fathered a child.

He worried about his colleagues - the Ukrainian captain and 10 Nigerians, including four young cadets from Nigeria’s Maritime Academy. They would have locked themselves into their cabins, standard procedure in an area stalked by pirates.

He got really worried when he heard a loud sound in the water outside - sharks or barracuda, he supposed - fighting over something big.

As the waters rose, he made a rack on top of a platform and piled two mattresses on top.

“I started calling on the name of God,” Okene told the Nation. “I started reminiscing on the verses I read before I slept. I read the Bible from Psalms 54 to 92. My wife had sent me the verses to read that night when she called me before I went to bed.”

He survived on a single bottle of Coke.

Okene really thought he was going to die, he said, when he heard the sound of a boat engine and an anchor dropping, but failed to get the attention of its crew. He figured, given the size of the sunken tugboat, that it would take a miracle for anyone to locate him. So he waded across the cabin, stripped the wall down to its steel body and banged on it with a hammer.

But “I heard them moving away. They were far away from where I was,” he said. By the time the divers found him, relatives already had been told there were no survivors. Using hot water to warm him up, the rescue crew attached Okene to an oxygen mask. He was put into a decompression chamber and then safely returned to the surface. —AP

BRUSSELS: NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (L) speaks with Croatain Foreign minister and European Integration Vesna Pusic (C) and Georgia’s Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze (R) prior to a meeting gathering NATO foreign ministers at the organisation’s headquarters in Brussels, yesterday. —AFP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Pakistan party hails US suspension of shipments US has alternative routes available

NEW DELHI: A woman casts her vote as others wait for their turn at a polling booth in New Delhi, India, yesterday. Nearly 12 million residents were expected to vote to select the assembly, in a poll that analysts say is expected to show a trend for the three parties heading into next year’s national elections in the world’s biggest democracy. —AP

India’s anti-corruption party tested in Delhi polls NEW DELHI: A new Indian political party rooted in an anti-corruption movement that swept the country in 2011 faced its first electoral test Wednesday as voters in New Delhi headed to the polls.

The Aam Aadmi (“Common Man”) Party, led by former tax inspector Arvind Kejriwal, is hoping for a victory in the New Delhi state election that would be a political earthquake ahead of national polls next year. New Delhi, whose 16.8 million inhabitants elect their own assembly, has been run by the Congress party since 1998 but it is seen as struggling with voter fatigue, inflation and anger over crime against women and corruption.

Kejriwal cast his vote at a polling station in central Delhi early yesterday accompanied by about 100 supporters wearing white Gandhi caps which, along with a broom, has become the party’s trademark.

“Broom! Broom! Broom!” said street food vendor Rajesh Sharma, 49, after casting his vote in the chaotic old city area. “Kejriwal deserves a chance to show what he’s got.” Turnout was approaching record levels of about 60 percent shortly before voting ended at 5 pm (1130 GMT), following a trend of unprecedented enthusiasm in four other state elections held over the last month.

All five polls are a litmus test for the Congress party, in power nationally for nearly a decade, and for the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its hardline prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Modi has campaigned hard and will hope to see the BJP make gains when results are announced for all five state elections on Sunday.

Kejriwal, 44, believes his promise of clean politics, young candidates and he pursuit of black marketeers, whom he blames for soaring food prices, will see his party surge to victory.

“I believe that the people will vote against a corrupt establishment this time,” he told reporters. He formed the Aam Aadmi Party

(AAP) less than a year ago after a split from his one-time partner Anna Hazare, an elderly activist with whom he launched a nationwide protest movement in 2011 demanding a new anti-corruption law.

A survey on perceptions of corruption published on Tuesday by Transparency International showed India ranked at number 94 out of 177 countries. Support for the AAP as detected by India’s often unreliable pollsters fluctuates wildly, from an impressive six to eight seats in the 70member Delhi assembly to an extraordinary 30 or more.

“This election will test the substance of a new force, the Aam Aadmi party, which despite lacking a seasoned organisation has expertly created a buzz about its presence,” The Indian Express said in an editorial yesterday.

In the general elections next year, the leftleaning Congress is predicted to struggle to win a third term in power, with Modi and the BJP making headway but without enough support to win a majority.

“Consistently we have worked for development of Delhi, inclusive development, not only social development but also infrastructure,” Sheila Dikshit, India’s longest serving chief minister, told reporters yesterday.

“Lots of work that we have done, people try to blow it away in the wind of corruption. This is not true.” Dikshit was criticised for her handling of the Delhi Commonwealth Games and related infrastructure projects in 2010 which were late, often badly built and riddled with corruption, according to auditors. She has also been under pressure to improve safety in the capital after the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus last December brought simmering anger about widespread sex crime in India to the boil.

Turnout in elections in the central states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, western Rajasthan and northeastern Mizoram over the last month was between 70-80 percent, breaking previous records. —AFP

ISLAMABAD: Former cricketer Imran Khan’s party claimed a “tactical success” yesterday after the US military suspended shipments of equipment out of Afghanistan via a key Pakistani route, citing protests that posed a risk to truck drivers.

Activists in northwest Pakistan, some armed with clubs, have been forcibly searching trucks in an effort to halt NATO supplies in protest over US drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal belt.

The unofficial checkpoints began on November 24 after a call to blockade NATO supplies by Khan, the head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) political party.

Pentagon spokesman Mark Wright said on Tuesday that the US had “voluntarily halted” shipments of cargo leaving Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Torkham is a key transit point used by the Americans and NATO to withdraw military hardware from Afghanistan, as part of a troop pullout set to wrap up by the end of 2014.

Another border crossing point for NATO convoys in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province is not subject to the PTIled protests, and convoys there are understood to be unaffected by the suspension.

PTI spokeswoman Shireen Mazari hailed the Pentagon’s move as a “tactical success” and said the protests would continue.

“The US decision to halt NATO supplies through Torkham doesn’t affect our protest and we will continue our protest until drone strikes are stopped,” she told AFP. Khan demanded the government block NATO supplies after a US drone strike that killed Pakistani Taleban leader Hakimullah Mehsud but Islamabad has shown no appetite for such a move. US officials said trucks have been told to wait for now in holding areas in Afghanistan, with Washington expecting the route to resume operating soon.

A US defence official said Washington believed the Islamabad government fully supported the use of the route and that it would soon restore security to the area.

Islamabad signed a deal with the US in July last year allowing NATO convoys to transit Pakistan until the end of 2015, but a spokesman for the interior ministry said they were unable to intervene.

“Maintaining law and order is a provincial subject and the provincial government is responsible for security of NATO trucks, we

can’t direct them in this regard,” Omer Hameed Khan told AFP. The PTI leads the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but highways come under the authority of the federal government, and some have argued there is no legal basis for the blockade.

Alternative routes The United States has alternative routes

Islamabad shut its border to coalition trucks for more than seven months after a US helicopter accidentally killed 24 Pakistani troops, reopening it in July 2012 after Washington apologised.

As of September, the Pentagon said it had to send home 24,000 vehicles and 20,000 shipping containers of equipment after more than 12 years of war.

Drone strikes are deeply unpopular in

PESHAWAR: Pakistani supporters of Imran Khan, head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, check the documents of a truck driver at an unofficial checkpoint in a bid to block the NATO supply trucks in Peshawar yesterday. Khan’s party claimed a “tactical success” after the US military suspended shipments of equipment out of Afghanistan via a key Pakistani route, citing protests that posed a risk to truck drivers. —AFP available to Afghanistan’s north through Central Asia, though those options take longer and are more expensive.

The US and Pakistani governments recently issued a joint statement saying the road route through Pakistan was considered important to both of them, as well as to the NATO alliance.

About half of US cargo is being taken out through Pakistan, with the remainder being removed by aircraft or a combination of planes and then ships at regional ports.

NATO cargo shipments across Pakistan have been disrupted in the past due to political strains.

Pakistan but US officials say they are an important tool in the fight against terror and have taken out dangerous Al-Qaeda militants.

While Pakistani officials publicly criticise the bombing campaign, the government is believed to have tacitly backed at least some of the strikes over the years.

Civilian deaths from America’s covert drone operation have also proved contentious in Afghanistan, where President Hamid Karzai has demanded an end to civilian casualties before he agrees to sign a proposed 10-year security agreement with the United States. —AFP

Pakistani drowns daughters, self over Dubai debts

3 dead as train derails in Bangladesh unrest DHAKA: Opposition activists killed three people when they derailed a train in Bangladesh yesterday as part of a campaign against elections scheduled for next month, officials said.

Three coaches and the engine of the express toppled off the tracks in the northern district of Gaibandha and trapped dozens of passengers, police and railway spokesmen said.

“Among the trapped passengers, three have died-rwo men and a woman,” Gaibandha police chief Sajid Hossain told AFP. Hossain said five passengers who had been rescued from one of the derailed coaches were seriously hurt and others had minor injuries.

The private television network Somoy put the number of injured at 40. Mahbubul Alam Bakshi, the head of Bangladesh Railway’s northern region, said protesters removed fishplates linking the rails in what he called “an act of sabotage”. Police chief Hossain said Wednesday’s derailing was believed to be the work of oppo-

sition activists protesting at plans to hold next month’s election, adding that two had been arrested at the scene. Bakshi said the pair were both followers of Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist movement which is banned from taking part in the election and is allied to the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Opposition activists trying to enforce a transport strike also derailed two other trains early Wednesday, forcing the suspension of four key train services in the southeast and all services in the southwestern city of Khulna, police and officials said.

Two burns victims, injured during arson attacks in the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong, died of their injuries early yesterday. At least 64 people — 34 of them since last week-have now been killed since late October when the BNP began a mass campaign to try to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to stand down ahead of the January 5 elections. —AFP

DUBAI: A Pakistani depressed over debts in Dubai drowned his two daughters and emailed his wife to wish her a better life before killing himself, reports in the emirate said yesterday.

The 40-year-old strangled and drowned the girls, aged two and seven, in the bathroom of the family’s villa on Sunday night before drowning himself in the compound’s swimming pool, the Emarat Al-Youm newspaper said. The man had been suffering from depres-

Shiites rally in Karachi KARACHI: Around 1,200 Shiites rallied in Karachi yesterday to protest the killing of a senior community leader in a sectarian attack, blocking an arterial road in the southern Pakistani city.

They offered funeral prayers for Allama Deedar Ali Jalbani, shot dead along with his guard by gunmen in the eastern neighbourhood of Gulshan-e-Iqbal on Tuesday. They also shouted slogans against the killing and demanded the government arrest Jalbani’s killers.

The city’s main artery, M.A. Jinnah Road, which links different busy districts and shopping areas was shut for hours due to the Shiites’ protest. “We closed the road and stopped movement of traffic in the surrounding areas also to avoid any untoward incident,” senior police official Pir Muhammad Shah told AFP. Private schools in the city remained shut and public transport was thin due to security fears following a protest call given by Shiites’ representative organisation, Majlis-eWahdatul Muslimeen (MWM), of which Jalbani was the deputy secretary general.

Three main universities, Karachi university, Federal Urdu university and NED university postponed examinations scheduled for yesterday. —AP

sion due to mounting personal debts and was having problems with his wife who was attending a concert at the time of the deaths, the daily said. The National newspaper said the man had sent his wife a message saying she deserved a better life than he could offer, and that he decided to kill the daughters because he could not leave them with no one to care for them.

The family’s Ethiopian housemaid said she

went to bed at 10:30 pm, and the wife’s brother was reportedly asleep in the villa. Police found the elder daughter wearing a nightdress and lying in a flooded bathroom, while the second was wrapped in a blanket and placed in bed after suffering the same fate, The National said.

Police were still investigating the tragedy and a post-mortem examination was to be conducted on the three bodies in the near future, the newspaper added. —AP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

North Korea’s powerbroker: Ousted or just out of sight?

SEOUL: South Korea’s spy agency believes North Korean leader Kim JongUn has just carried out the most significant leadership purge since taking power two years ago, but confirmation may be a long time coming.

North Korea’s state media have said nothing since the South’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers Tuesday that Kim appeared to have ousted his uncle and political regent Jang Song-Thaek.

Political avunculicide isn’t a commonly used term, but in a leadership structure as inherently nepotistic as that of North Korea, it inevitably enjoys some precedent. In the 1970s, then future leader Kim Jong-Il purged a powerful uncle he saw as a rival to succeeding his father-founding leader Kim Il-Sung.

Jang’s apparent dismissal is particu-

larly noteworthy given the crucial role he was seen as having played in securing Kim Jong-Un’s own succession after his father Kim Jong-Il’s death. The NIS assessment triggered a wave of conjecture as to why Kim had turned on the 67-year-old who helped put him on the throne, and what it said about the young leader’s grip on power.

“Two years after Kim Jong-Un took power, work is currently underway to reorganise the power structure within the inner circle,” Defence Minister Kim Kwan-Jin told a meeting of top military commanders in Seoul yesterday.

However, the NIS report was only an assessment, and the main question regarding Jang’s dismissal is still whether it actually happened or not.

The silence from North Korea is hardly unusual. News of any import-unless it

relates to national achievement-is rarely reported with any urgency, especially senior leadership changes.

Nevertheless, Jang’s official titles did include that of vice chairman of the National Defence Commission-a post high enough that it would be “typically reported” by state media once it had been effected, according to the authoritative North Korea Leadership Watch website.

The NIS based its assessment on two overlapping elements: intelligence reports that two close Jang associates were executed last month, and Jang’s absence from public view since November 6. Arguing that the executions could not have gone ahead with Jang in office, the agency concluded he must have been removed.

“It’s circumstantial, and it’s premature

to say if the assessment is fair or reliable,” said Kim Yong-Hyun, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University in Seoul.

Like many other analysts, Kim noted that NIS reports had been proven wrong before and that it was not unusual for even top North Korean leaders to disappear from public view-sometimes for months-before reappearing.

“The definite answer will only be provided, one way or the other, by the Nor th Korean media,” he told AFP. Leadership changes are often signalled in the lists, published by the state media, of high-ranking attendees at official events.

Without any forewarning, a new name will appear against a senior post, with no mention of the fate of its previous holder.

North Korea Leadership Watch point-

ed out that rumours of Jang’s demotion or dismissal had surfaced in the South Korean media in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

He disappeared for almost two years in early 2004, but reports that he had been dismissed were never definitively confirmed and he finally reappeared.

Observers searching for supporting evidence for Jang’s ouster will also be looking for any sign or mention of his wife, Kim Jong-Il’s sister Kim Kyong-Hui. For years, they have been viewed as the ultimate power couple in Pyongyang, and instrumental in jointly steering Kim Jong-Un safely through the tricky leadership transition period.

But in the past year, Kim Kyong-Hui has been less visible, with reports that she was seriously ill and had sought hospital treatment in Singapore on several occasions. —AFP

Biden seeks to calm China air zone tensions Support for Japan to undermine Biden’s credibility BEIJING: US Vice President Joe Biden told Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday that their countries’ relationship will affect “the course of the 21st century” as he tried to ease tensions over an air zone declared by Beijing.

Biden’s trip, which began in Japan and ends in South Korea, follows a furore over Beijing’s declaration of an “air defence identification zone” (ADIZ)

Biden told Xi. “This new model of major-country cooperation ultimately has to be based on trust, and a positive notion about the motive of one another.” The meeting between the two, who are said to have a good personal rapport, lasted two hours, far longer than the scheduled 45 minutes.

Xi called Biden an “old friend” and

cerned by the attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea”.

Beijing provoked widespread anger late last month by declaring an ADIZ in which all aircraft had to be subject to China’s orders or face unspecified “defensive emergency measures”.

Washington, Tokyo and Seoul all sent military or paramilitary planes into

BEIJING: US Vice President Joe Biden, center, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping inside the Great Hall of the People yesterday, in Beijing, China. Biden and Xi discussed efforts to forge a new model for relations between the major powers, but they’ve made no public comments about a new Chinese air defense zone that’s become a major friction point in Asia. —AP covering the East China Sea including islands disputed with Japan.

It demonstrates the challenges Washington-which has declared a foreign policy “pivot” towards Asia-faces in dealing with an ever more assertive China, the world’s second-largest economy, while maintaining a security alliance with Beijing’s great rival Japan.

“This is a hugely consequential bilateral relationship that is going to play a significant part in affecting the course of the 21st century,”

told him : “You have long been committed to the growth of China-US relations and I commend you for the large amount of work you have taken.”

Relations had generally maintained “positive development”, he said, noting that the region and globe were undergoing “complex changes” and “regional hot spot issues keep cropping up”. It was a marked change of tone for Biden after he said at a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Tuesday that the US was “deeply con-

the zone in defiance of Beijing’s rules, while the US reiterated its security pact with Japan. The decades-old argument over East China Sea outcrops which Beijing calls Diaoyu and Tokyo calls Senkaku flared after Japan bought some of the islands from their private owners in September 2012.

Since then, China has sent ships and aircraft to nearby waters while Japan has scrambled fighter jets on hundreds of occasions, raising concerns of an unintended clash. Beijing

has accused the US and Japan-which both have ADIZs-of double standards over its own zone, saying the real provocateur is Tokyo.

It also accuses Japan of being unwilling to negotiate by refusing even to acknowledge that a dispute exists over the islands, which Tokyo controls but Beijing regards as part of its territory.

An editorial in the state-run China Daily yesterday said US support for Japan would undermine Biden’s credibility in China. “Despite trying to present the image of being an impartial mediator, Washington has obviously taken Japan’s side,” it said.

“He should not expect any substantial headway if he comes simply to repeat his government’s previous erroneous and one-sided remarks.”

Analysts say that despite the rhetoric the two Asian powers-the world’s second- and third-largest economieshave strong incentives to avoid conflict, and China may have been looking to stake out a diplomatic position with the zone.

Beijing is ramping up its military spending and capabilities and increasingly sees itself as a global heavyweight. When Xi-whose slogan of a “Chinese Dream” encapsulates a national rise met America’s Barack Obama in June, he called for a “new model of great power relations”.

Biden and Chinese leaders-he is also expected to meet Premier Li Keqiang were unlikely to let ADIZ friction derail broader efforts to strengthen relations, said Graham Webster, a Beijing-based fellow at the Yale Law School China Centre.

“I don’t think it will be the main topic of conversation on this trip despite the recent news,” he said. The overarching goal from such senior meetings was “about continuing the spirit of high-level cooperation and bilateral work in the common interest”, he added. —AFP

Thailand awaits king’s word on political conflict BANGKOK: As violence between anti-government protesters and police died down yesterday in the Thai capital, people of all political persuasions waited to hear if their king would offer advice in his annual birthday speech to help resolve a crisis that has left the nation deeply divided.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who turns 86 today, has often served as a unifying figure in times of crisis.

Many people are hopeful the king can step in - as he has done decisively before - to ease the current standoff, which results from years of enmity between supporters and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin was deposed by a 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption and disrespect for the king.

As a constitutional monarch, the king has no official political role, but no other figure commands the same moral authority or the same loyalty from the armed forces in the coup-prone country. On two occasions when the country seemed to be coming apart, his intervention turned the tide, restoring peace literally overnight.

When a pro-democracy uprising against a military dictatorship in 1973 left Bangkok in a state of anarchy, with the army ready to unleash a bloodbath, he showed support for the demonstrators and persuaded the dictators to go into exile.

A similar disaster was avoided in 1992 during another mass protest against a military-backed government. After a crackdown threatened to spin out of control, the king summoned the protest leader and the prime minister to a late-night televised meeting where he chastised them for tearing apart the nation.

The latest conflict is far less severe, but it is violent and seemingly intractable. Traditionally the king speaks his mind during his birthday speech, one of the rare occasions on which he talks directly to the public. He often makes his points through humor and aphorisms, but their meaning is usually clear.

Sukanya Chaisilapin, 27, an employee for a courier company, said she thought his speech “will be a way out.”“Previously his majesty has given speeches about reconciliation and unity, and it could help with this kind of situation,” she said.

Janwadee Jilao, 24, a marketing executive, said the

CHEGDU: British Prime Minister David Cameron plays table tennis during his visit to a primary school in Chengdu in southwest China’s Sichuan province, yesterday. —AP

Return the treasures Britain looted, Chinese tell Cameron BEIJING: British Prime Minister David Cameron faced demands yesterday for the return of priceless artefacts looted from Beijing in the 19th century, on the last day of his visit to China. Cameron travelled to the southwestern city of Chengdu on the third day of what embassy officials said was the largest ever British trade mission to the country. British officials say deals worth 5.6 billion pounds ($9.2 billion) have been signed so far on the trip, but Cameron has been derided by both Chinese state-run media and the country’s sharp-tongued Internet users.

The prime minister last Friday set up his own microblogging page on Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, attracting more than 260,000 followers by Wednesday evening. He invited netizens to ask questions, saying he would aim to reply during the visit.

One of the most popular questions was posted by a prominent Chinese think-tank, the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, which is headed by former vicepremier Zeng Peiyan and includes many top government officials and leading economists among its members.

“When will Britain return the illegally plundered artefacts?” the organisation asked, referring to 23,000 items in the British Museum which it says were looted by the British army. The British were part of the Eight-Nation Alliance that put down the Boxer Rebellion at the end of the 19th century, a popular uprising against the incursion of European imperial powers in China.

To the Chinese, the ransacking of the Forbidden City, and the earlier destruction of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860 — about which one British officer wrote: “You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the places we burnt. It made one’s heart sore to burn them”-remain key symbols of how the country was once dominated by foreign powers.

Even now the ruling Communist party appeals to nationalism to bolster its popularity. Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters Wednesday: “The relevant issue is related to the past history of China as well as the feelings of the Chinese people.

“We hope that relevant countries and authorities and people can respect the Chinese people’s feelings and take a responsible and friendly measure on the relevant issue.” Asked whether China was asking for the treasures to be returned, he said: “Relevant Chinese authorities are in communication with the government authorities of relevant countries.”

The Department for Culture, Media & Sport in London said the “UK enjoys excellent cultural relations with China”, adding: “Questions concerning Chinese items in museum collections are for the trustees or governing authorities of those collections to respond to and the Government does not intervene.” Britain has consistently rejected requests from other countries to return artefacts such as the Elgin Marbles. The British Museum argues the objects are part of world heritage and are more accessible to visitors in London.

Beijing was outraged by Cameron’s meeting with the Dalai Lama-whom it condemns as a dangerous separatist-last year, which led to a diplomatic deep-freeze between the two nations.

Despite the trip being billed as a trade mission, it has widely been seen as an attempt to repair some of the damage caused to China-British relations.

But a leading state newspaper launched an attack on Cameron Tuesday, saying in an editorial headlined “China won’t fall for Cameron’s ‘sincerity’” that Britain should recognise it is not a major power but “just an old European country apt for travel and study”. —AFP

Australian FM Bishop heads to Indonesia, China after spy row

BANGKOK: Anti-government protesters sweep streets in front of the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday. Protesters intent on toppling Thailand’s democratically elected prime minister plan to press their struggle again yesterday with a peaceful march on Bangkok’s national police headquarters, one day after a sudden truce in honor of the king’s birthday this week ended a spate of increasingly fierce street fighting. —AP king has never ignored political strife. “He comes out and looks after and cares for all of his people. Even though there are two political factions, I believe that if Thais go back to loving each other, it will be because of his majesty.”

However, Thailand’s political environment has changed vastly since 1973 and 1992, when public sentiment was solidly on one side against abusive military leaders. The king is a less vigorous figure than he used to be. In July, he ended a nearly four-year hospital stay - initially for treatment of a lung infection - to live in a palace in the seaside town of Hua Hin, where he is to deliver his speech.

The monarchy, once an untouchable institution, has also fallen in esteem in recent years after being abused for political gain by different parties. Those who sought to oust Thaksin accused him of trying to usurp the king’s authority, and some alleged that he sought to establish a republic.

The 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin polarized Thailand. He had won the support of the country’s urban poor and rural majority by implementing populist programs such as cheap health care, while many in the urban-based elite see Thaksin as a corrupt threat to their privileged positions and to the monarchy.

Thaksin’s supporters believe the king’s top adviser helped arrange the 2006 coup. While the king kept out of the fray, his wife, Queen Sirikit, made a show of support in 2008 for anti-Thaksin demonstrators, creating the perception that the palace had cast its lot with one faction.

Thaksin-backed parties have won every election since 2001, and his supporters feel that moves against the former prime minister and his allies amount to disenfranchising them. Thaksin’s opponents have proposed a change in the democratic system that would shift power away from directly elected politicians. —AP

SYDNEY: Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will hold talks with Indonesia today to help repair ties strained by a spying row and draw up a code of ethics to govern relations.

The nation’s top diplomat will also visit China, where relations are likewise on edge after Canberra’s criticism of Beijing’s new air defence identification zone, which covers East China Sea islands disputed with Japan.

“The minister will lead a high level delegation to Jakarta for broad-ranging discussions about the bilateral relationship, following President (Susilo Bambang) Yudhoyono’s recent statement,” her office said.

Reports last month that Australian spies tried to tap the phones of Yudhoyono, his wife and his inner circle in 2009 sparked one of the worst diplomatic crises between the two strategic allies in years.

Jakarta reacted furiously, ending cooperation on military exercises and in the key area of people-smuggling while recalling its ambassador from Canberra. Tensions calmed after Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott sent Yudhoyono a letter of explanation, with the two leaders agreeing that toplevel envoys would discuss protocols and a code of ethics to govern relations that were “clear, fair and abided to”.

Abbott has also suggested a security roundtable to build trust. Bishop will meet

with her counterpart Marty Natalegawa, who said the meeting was the first step in a six-point process recommended by Yudhoyono last week aimed at restoring trust between the two nations.

“I’m looking forward to a frank and candid discussion and to being able to begin that process of moving forward,” Natalegawa told AFP. However, Australian Defence Minister David Johnston admitted the damage would not be immediately repaired.

“It will take some time for current issues in bilateral relations to be worked through, but they will be resolved in time,” Johnston said. “Building trust is essential and that can only be done through personal contact and mutual respect.”

From Jakarta, Bishop will travel to China, primarily for the annual Foreign and Strategic Dialogue with counterpart Wang Yi, which will focus on a bilateral agenda and regional and global issues of common concern.

The visit comes after Beijing reacted angrily last month to Bishop summoning its ambassador to voice opposition to the East China Sea air zone, with China demanding Australia correct its “mistake” immediately.

Canberra refused, proclaiming a right to speak out where Australian interests were concerned. —AFP

NEWS

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

MPs want probe, debate...

OPEC freezes oil output...

Hezb commander killed

Continued from Page 1

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KAC insisted that all the planes, including the leased ones, are brand new and not used. Delivery of the leased planes is scheduled to start after one year while the delivery of the purchased aircraft will start in 2019 and end in 2022. KAC declined to reveal the value of the deal, citing confidentiality clauses in the MoU. A final contract is scheduled to be signed next month, the carrier, undergoing privatization, said.

The deal came at the height of a controversy over earlier plans to purchase five used planes from Indian private carrier Jet Airways through Airbus itself. The controversy developed into a bitter, highly publicized dispute between Communications Minister Essa Al-Kandari and KAC chairman Sami Al-Nisf who was suspended and later removed from his post by the minister.

Kandari followed his actions by appointing Rasha Al-Roumi, a former top KAC executive, as the new chairperson and managing director. Nisf took the battle yesterday to a higher level by challenging Kandari’s decision in the court which set Dec 10 a date for the first hearing.

MP Yacoub Al-Sane meanwhile sent a large number of questions to the communications minister inquiring about the price, the types and conditions of the planes and most importantly if KAC had obtained the necessary approvals from government bodies to sign the deal. Sane also inquired if the deal includes any penalty clauses and the way it will be financed.

Speaker Ghanem meanwhile said that any Cabinet reshuffle is the affair of the government “but we are hearing there is going to be a reshuffle after December 23” when the constitutional court is scheduled to issue a key ruling on the fate of the Assembly. Meanwhile, rapporteur of the Assembly’s financial and economic affairs committee MP Mohammad Al-Jabri said yesterday that State Minister for Development Rola Dashti informed the panel that there are no plans to impose taxes on citizens.

“We know demand is good, economic growth is good, supply is good,” Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi told reporters at OPEC headquarters in the Austrian capital. The group, with a dozen member nations from the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, is producing slightly below its output target. But production could increase in the coming months as Iraq and Iran look to export more crude after sizeable falls in recent years. Libyan supplies may also recover.

Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members argue that benchmark crude oil prices, currently averaging $100 per barrel, provide acceptable income for producers without weighing too heavily on consumers. “The price of oil is acceptable and there will be some additional oil coming to the market from OPEC and outside OPEC,” Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed Al-Sada said yesterday.

“What is more important is that this additional oil will be needed for the signs of economic recovery.” Sada added: “The current (output) situation seems to be comfortable... 30 million barrels seems to do justice to the current economic situation.”

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh this week said that the country would be able to “immediately” export 4.0 million barrels per day (bpd) once sanctions are lifted in the wake of the international deal to roll back its nuclear program.

Iranian crude oil exports have been slashed to about 1.2 million bpd from 2.5 million bpd in 2011, according to Zanganeh. At the same time, Iraq’s Oil Minister Abdelkarim Al-Luaybi said his country hoped to export 3.4 million bpd of crude oil next year, including 400,000 bpd from Iraqi Kurdistan, as it looks to recover from years of bloodshed. This compares with exports of 2.38 million bpd in November.

The market though doubts how quickly new production can come on board. Libya’s output has plunged to about 250,000 bpd amid deadly fighting between radical Islamist fighters and the army, but oil minister Abdelbari AlArusi said he hoped production would be back to its normal level of 1.5 million bpd within two weeks. Nigeria meanwhile faces regular acts of sabotage to its oil pipelines. OPEC decided on keeping Badri as secretary general after members failed to agree on candidates put forward by Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

OPEC had already voted in December last year to keep on Badri, who has steered the cartel through the financial crisis in the role of administrative head since 2007. — AFP

“abuses” of Sunnis in Baalbek, a Hezbollah bastion in eastern Lebanon and Lakiss’ native city. Ansar al-Umma al-Islamiya said it murdered Lakiss because he was “Hezbollah’s field commander and directly responsible for the massacre in Qusayr”, a Syrian rebel town that fell to regime forces in June with Hezbollah’s help.

Hezbollah television said Lakiss was shot repeatedly with a silenced handgun after parking at the building where he lived, adding that there was more than one assailant. A Hezbollah source called Lakiss a “personal friend and one of the closest people to (Hezbollah chief ) Hassan Nasrallah, both on the personal and party levels”. The source added: “Part of his work was to ensure the organisation of Nasrallah’s security.”

Ali Fares, who lived in Lakiss’s building, said his son saw from his window two men fleeing. “I went downstairs with the other neighbours and I saw the body. It appears they attacked him when he was getting out of his car,” Fares said. Thousands of people braved heavy rain to attend Lakiss’ funeral in Baalbek. His coffin was carried through the crowds, draped in the Shiite movement’s yellow and green flag. Several Hezbollah leaders have been assassinated since the movement was created by Iran. Like Mughniya, Lakiss operated behind the scenes. His killing comes seven months after Hezbollah first openly admitted fighting in Syria alongside President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces.

Nasrallah again defended Hezbollah

involvement in Syria on Tuesday in an interview with Lebanese broadcaster OTV, saying it was fighting to protect Lebanon from the Syrian rebels, who include jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda. Nasrallah also accused Saudi Arabia of being behind a double suicide bombing at Iran’s Beirut embassy last month that killed 25 people and was claimed by an Al-Qaeda-linked group. While Hezbollah and its regional backer Iran support Assad, Saudi Arabia backs the Sunni-led rebels seeking his ouster.

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an AlQaeda affiliate that claimed responsibility for the attacks, “has an emir and he is Saudi, and I am convinced that it is linked to the Saudi intelligence services, which direct groups like this one in several parts of the world,” Nasrallah said. In his remarks to OT V, Nasrallah said the blasts that hit the embassy, which is located in Hezbollah’s southern Beirut bastion, were “linked to Saudi Arabia’s rage against Iran over its failure” in Syria. Saudi Arabia is “making Iran pay the price for the consequences of the failure of its plans in the region,” he added.

While Riyadh’s regional rival Tehran has “tried for years to open the doors (for talks) with Saudi Arabia, the one that closed all the doors and windows... was Saudi Arabia,” said Nasrallah. “The problem with Saudi Arabia since the beginning is that it has dealt with Iran as an enemy,” he added. “Saudi Arabia seeks to impose itself as the leader of the Arab and Muslim world, and refuses any friend or companion. It wants all the governments of the Arab and Muslim world to follow (its) orders.” — Agencies

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

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Focus

Boko Haram raid casts doubt on Nigeria claims

A

By Ben Simon

daring Boko Haram raid in the north Nigerian city of Maiduguri was an embarrassing setback for the security forces, further eroding claims the Islamists have been significantly weakened, analysts said. But experts also argued that a six-month-old offensive against the militants has made some gains and that sustaining pressure was the best option, with prospects for peace as bleak as ever. The early morning attack on Monday, reportedly carried out by hundreds of heavily armed militants, targeted air force and army positions, despite the military saying the city had been largely secured.

Nnamdi Obasi, Nigeria researcher for the International Crisis Group, said the military can justifiably claim to have made Maiduguri safer in recent months “but clearly the events of yesterday showed that was not a permanent gain”. Boko Haram “is a very resilient group”, he told AFP and labelled as “shortsighted” the notion that the insurgents had been confined to remote areas. The latest violence forced authorities to close Maiduguri’s civilian airport and impose a total ban on movements except for emergency personnel.

The rebels destroyed military aircraft, razed buildings and set shops and petrol stations ablaze, according to residents, who reported at least two civilian deaths, although the toll may have been much higher.

The military’s disputed account said that gun battles following the initial attack left 24 insurgents and two service personnel wounded. Kyari Mohammed, a Boko Haram specialist at the Modibbo Adama University in Yola, Adamawa state, said the attack showed the military “are not in control”. “That is the message (Boko Haram) are sending,” he added, while Obasi said the military had been “caught off guard”, noting that Boko Haram has a track record of exploiting such complacency.

The state of emergency imposed in northeast Nigeria in May has been extended for six more months, giving the military more time to target the radical group, which has been blamed for killing thousands since 2009. Some observers have questioned the effectiveness of the campaign, as hundreds of civilians, including scores of students, have been killed. But despite doubts about the campaign’s effectiveness, “in the short-term, clearly the operation has to be sustained” and units in the region may need to be better resourced, said Obasi.

Boko Haram is widely seen as a fractured group and there had been hope that some camps could be open to negotiations but a recent bid to kickstart amnesty talks with some insurgent leaders achieved nothing.

The opportunity for any further dialogue is currently “very slim”, Obasi assessed. Inside Maiduguri, academic and commentator Mallam Kabir demanded the security forces do more. “What happened in Maiduguri on Monday is a clear indication that Nigerian authorities are not serious about the terrible security situation,” said the University of Maiduguri lecturer.

Mohammed agreed that the military needed to maintain the pressure but said the government must do “whatever it takes” to open a line of dialogue, in part because recent history has proven that force alone cannot stop the violence. Citing security sources, Obasi said the Maiduguri attack reinforced the need for a regional strategy against the rebels, with Cameroon, Chad and Niger helping to seal borders and contain cross-border weapons flow.

Nigeria has voiced concern that Boko Haram fighters often avoid pursuit by fleeing into a neighbouring state and the group acquires most of its weapons from outside Nigeria. While experts have agreed that Nigeria needs outside help, few expect it will be forthcoming.

For Obasi, if Nigeria actually wants help from its neighbours they will “have to pay for it themselves” - and should plan to do so. Landlocked Niger and Chad are among the world’s poorest countries with their own domestic security challenges, while Cameroon has shown little interest in committing to an anti-Boko Haram strategy. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and top oil producer, with the continent’s secondlargest economy. Boko Haram says it wants to create an Islamic state in the mainly Muslim north, which is poorer than the mostly Christian south. —AFP

All articles appearing on these pages are the personal opinion of the writers. Kuwait Times takes no responsibility for views expressed therein. Kuwait Times invites readers to voice their opinions. Please send submissions via email to: opinion@kuwaittimes.net or via snail mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait.

The editor reserves the right to edit any submission as necessary.

Global pressure pushes back Israel redlines

By Selim Saheb Ettaba

T

he nuclear deal signed with Iran, and Israel’s participation in an EU project which bars settlement funding, is proving the effectiveness of external pressure on the Jewish state, experts say. US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to arrive in the region Wednesday for his first visit since world powers reached an interim agreement with Iran to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for limited sanctions relief, which Israel has denounced as “a historic mistake”. It also comes after the Jewish state agreed to join a EU scientific research project, despite the fact it bars funding for any Israeli entity with operations beyond the 1967 Green Line.

For the Palestinians, the deal reached with Iran, despite massive Israeli opposition, could have resonance for the waterlogged peace talks. “What happened in Geneva is a good deal, and a good model,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said at an event marking the one-year anniversary of the UN General Assembly recognising Palestine as an observer state.

“It’s a good model that could be applied

here also, if you chose to.” He also hailed European Union guidelines unveiled this year which bar any EU grants or funding for scientific or research project with ties to the settlements.

Omar Barghouti, head of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which lobbies for the economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel, said the guidelines were “a first step in the right direction”. “Despite its unparallelled colonial arrogance, Israel’s far-right government has climbed down the tree and accepted a new EU reality that cannot continue business as usual with Israeli institutions and banks that are involved in the occupation and settlement business,” he told AFP. “Public grassroots and civil society pressure in EU countries on government officials and on the EU bureaucracy has been the most important factor behind the relative strengthening of EU compliance with its own laws and... its obligations under international law.”

Andreas Reinicke, the EU’s representative to the peace process, has warned if the ongoing talks failed, the campaign to clearly label products as made in the settle-

ments would gain pace. “When I assumed office (in February 2012), there were two countries that supported marking goods from the settlements,” he said, quoted by Maariv newspaper. “Now, 14 countries support this... Obviously this matter will come up again if the sides do not reach an agreement.”

The left-leaning Haaretz newspaper said the boycott threat was effective and had forced Israel’s hand in the case of the EU’s flagship Horizon 2020 research funding programme, which it agreed to join last week despite the ban on funding for groups linked to the settlements. “It appears that international sanctions work and that a boycott is a tool like no other,” wrote commentator Gideon Levy, an outspoken critic of the occupation. Israel’s signing of the Horizon 2020 agreement “is irrefutable proof that a boycott threat works well with Israel, too. “So the time has come for sanctions. This worked with Iran, and it will work with Israel.”

Even Kerry, who has thrown his full weight behind the talks, would eventually come to realise that, wrote Levy. “Even he will eventually come around because as

long as Israelis don’t pay a price for the occupation or are blind to it, they won’t end it.” In the same paper, Moshe Arens, who is from the opposite end of the political spectrum, denounced the decision “to succumb” an ultimatum by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, while acknowledging it would be of financial benefit to Israel. “But can the cost to Israel be measured only in monetary terms? How about the cost to Israel’s image?” he asked. “And the cost of the precedent set by this ignominious retreat from the positions held by successive Israeli governments regarding the Israelis residing beyond the 1949 armistice lines?”

The New York Times said the Iran deal was likely to force Israel to face up to a new reality -which could impact on its relationship with the Palestinians. “Just as the United States has had to adapt to a world where its power is unmatched but no longer determinant, Israel will have to do the same,” wrote Roger Cohen. “It was important that President (Barack) Obama set down a marker, as he has through this deal, one that may spur new strategic reflection in Israel.” —AFP

Istanbul landmark rekindles religious tensions

By Dilay Gundogan and Emmanuelle Baillon

P

erched on the tip of Istanbul’s historic peninsula, Hagia Sophia - with its spectacular dome, elegant curves and towering minarets - is an iconic sight for millions of tourists visiting the city each year. But should it be a mosque, a church or a museum? The 1,500-year-old complex overlooking the Bosphorus is at the heart of a bitter dispute over its fate after Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc called for it to be converted back into a Muslim place of worship. His comments, though not official policy, have added to concerns over what critics say is the government’s increasing efforts to impose Islamic values on secular Turkish society.

And the Byzantine monument could become a political hot potato for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is seeking to shore up flagging support among conservative Muslims ahead of elections next year. Hagia Sophia, which in Greek means “Holy Wisdom”, was built in the sixth century and served as an Orthodox church for centuries - and as the seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople - before being conver ted to a mosque by the Ottomans in the 1400s.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish republic, declared it a museum in 1934 and it opened the following year. “We are looking at a sad Hagia Sophia, but hopefully we will see it smiling again soon,” Arinc said earlier this month. Greece, whose territory was once part of the Ottoman empire and is often at odds with Turkey over religious issues, reacted furiously, saying such comments offended the religious feelings of millions of Christians.

Mihail Vasiliadis, editor-in-chief of Istanbul-based Greek daily Apoyevmatini, says Hagia Sophia is an important symbol for the entire Orthodox Christian community. “There are some who have been seeing a sad Hagia Sophia for more than 500 years and they are the ones who want to see it returned as a church,” he told AFP. Istanbul’s tiny Greek community, which numbers just a few thousand, is already irked over the issue of Ankara’s insistence on reciprocal steps from Athens to improve their religious rights. “There is no need to add salt to the wound,” Vasiliadis said.

Last month, Greece flatly rejected the idea of reviving two mosques in Athens in return for the reopening of an Orthodox clergy school in Turkey.

Two other churches that also bear the name Hagia Sophia have recently been turned into mosques in Turkey. There are already an estimated 83,000 mosques across the country - up around seven percent since Erdogan took office 11 years ago. Istanbul itself has around 3,000, including the stunning 17th century Blue Mosque just a short distance from Hagia Sophia.

For devout Muslims, however, opening Hagia

People visit the Hagia Sophia in Sultanahmet in Istanbul on Nov 29, 2013. —AFP Sophia for worship is also about paying a homage to Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the Ottoman emperor who turned it into a mosque following the conquest of Constantinople and joined the first prayers in 1453.

The nationalist Islamist Great Union Party (BBP) has staged several demonstrations to seek a repeal of the ban on Muslim prayers in Hagia Sophia, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site encompassing the Byzantine and Ottoman treasures of old Istanbul.

Armed with a land registry certificate dated 1936 that describes the complex as a mosque, BBP deputy leader Bayram Karacan claimed that its conversion into a museum was illegal. “ The fact that Hagia Sophia is a museum has never been accepted by the Turkish people... restoring it as a mosque would be akin to reclaiming sovereignty over it,” Karacan said.

Outside Hagia Sophia, visitors and local residents were divided over the possible conversion of the monument, described by UNESCO as one of the historic quarter’s “unique architectural masterpieces”.

“We have plenty of mosques here and many of them are empty. Who will fill all these mosques if it is converted? Tourists will not come here anymore,” said 52year-old shopowner Fehmi Simsek. Emerging from Hagia Sophia, 23-year-old German tourist Tamara

said the complex was a testament to Istanbul’s historical and religious importance throughout the centuries. “ Why would you want to change such a remarkable building?”

Historian Ahmet Kuyas of Galatasaray University in Istanbul said the debate could be linked to Turkey’s upcoming elections, with local polls in March, a presidential ballot in August and parliamentary elections in 2015. Erdogan, nicknamed the “Sultan”, has frequently touched a nerve over his conservative religious policies, including crackdowns on the sale and advertising of alcohol and allowing women working in the public service to wear Islamic headscarves. “ Turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque would be another blow to secular Turkey,” Kuyas said, describing the site as “a symbol of universal peace, peace between nations, between religions”.

Sevda, a veiled Turkish woman, said it would be more accessible to all as a mosque, as currently there was a fee to enter the museum. “It belongs to us and therefore it should be a mosque,” added her companion Kubra. A visitor from Spain who gave his name only as Alex said he did not object to a change in the status as long as people could still visit. “It is a beautiful place that everyone should see,” he added. —AFP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORTS

‘Brazuca’ ready for kickoff

Rapturous welcome for Nepal Twenty20 heroes

Ronaldo to open museum

RIO DE JANEIRO: The official ball to be used at next summer’s World Cup “The Brazuca” has been unveiled in Rio de Janeiro to the samba sounds of drums and cymbals. First to show off their skills with the new ball in a ceremony at a park in the south of the city were former Brazilian skipper Cafu and Dutchman Clarence Seedorf, currently playing with Rio side Botafogo, and Brazilian Hernane of city rivals Flamengo. “The ball is 100 percent Brazilian, it’s fantastic. It is a beautiful ball and really has all the characteristics and colors of Brazil,” Cafu told the Globosporte website. “I hope that it will be lucky for the Selecao (Brazil team),” he added. The ball, weighing 437 grams, underwent two and half years of testing by 600 players and 30 teams throughout the world.

The name “Brazuca” was decided in September 2012 after an internet-based opinion poll of Brazilian football fans. It beat off opposition from “Bossa Nova” and “Carvanalesca”. “Beazuca” takes over from “Jabulani” which was the official ball of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. — AP

KATHMANDU: Hundreds of cricket fans packed the streets of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu yesterday, hailing the Himalayan nation’s newest heroes at a victory rally after their shock qualification for the Twenty20 World Cup finals. Dressed in navy blue jackets, the players boarded an open-topped bus covered with marigold garlands, waving to fans at their first public appearance since their return home from Abu Dhabi where they clinched qualification last week. “I bunked school today to participate in the victory rally.

So you can imagine how happy I am,” Chiran Panday, a gleeful ninthgrader, told AFP as he waved a small national flag. Fans danced to traditional music and smeared holy vermilion powder on the cricketers’ faces to express their joy at the team’s feat last Thursday, when they qualified for the finals of a major cricket tournament for the first time.

Nepal only began fielding a national side in 1996 and football remains the most popular sport, despite the country’s proximity to cricket-mad India.

The central government has already promised to award each of the 15 team members one million Nepali rupees ($9,976).—AFP

LISBON: Footballing legend Cristiano Ronaldo said Tuesday he is opening a museum dedicated to himself on the Portuguese island where he was born.

The 28-year-old Real Madrid player will use the museum to showcase memorabilia from his hugely successful career, which began in the 1990s on the island of Madeira. Ronaldo said he would be there in person on December 15 for the opening of the museum in Madeira’s capital Funchal, which will showcase memorabilia including footballs, photographs and trophies.

He was speaking in Madeira, where he had travelled with his mother and young son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, to finalize plans for the opening. One of the world’s footballing greats, Ronaldo began his career with the small tourist island’s local club FC Andorinha, where his father worked.

He moved to Lisbon aged 12 and was picked up

by Sporting Portugal, launching his international career when he signed with Manchester United at the age of just 18.—AFP

Penguins overpower Islanders

Miguel Angel Jimenez

Jimenez hunts 4th title as Guan poses threat HONG KONG: Miguel Angel Jimenez has a golden chance this week to break his own record as the oldest European Tour winner, headlining a Hong Kong Open field missing its usual star names. The Spanish veteran is gunning for a record-equaling fourth title but will be up against Chinese teenager Guan Tianlang - 34 years his junior. The Guangzhou schoolboy, now 15, turned heads at this year’s US Masters when he made the cut-a feat he is confident of replicating at the cornerstone Asian event, which remains without a title sponsor.

Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie are among the Open’s previous distinguished winners. But Jimenez, who won for the third time in 2012 at a record age of 48 years and 318 days, is the only man from the world’s top 50 competing this year. Amateur Guanwho in April, at the age of 14 years, five months and 18 days, became the youngest golfer to make the weekend at a major tournament-is quietly confident of stopping him. “I’m going to enjoy the week and shoot some low scores,” he said.

Italian Ryder Cup player Edoardo Molinari, Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen and India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar will also fancy their chances at the event, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Until last year the Hong Kong Open occupied an important end-ofseason date on the golfing calendar as players scrambled for points in the race to finish top of the European money list. But now it counts towards next year’s money list and clashes with two other events.

Tour administrators are considering switching the competition’s dates to try to entice back top players but the lack of a title sponsor has hit the prize fund and appearance money, prompting worries over its future. There are even concerns about its traditional home, with some lawmakers calling for apartments to be built on the colonial-era Fanling course to ease

a housing shortage. Jimenez, 49, who has 19 European Tour wins, said it would be sad if the event disappeared as he prepares to tee off today. “I came here for the first time in 2004 and won. I love the city and I especially like the golf course,” he said.

“It’s an old-fashioned course and you have to have a very intelligent and precise game here. It’s in super shape this year-the greens are firm and the fair ways are immaculate.” The Spaniard said he hoped the star players would return to Hong Kong, but admitted golfers faced hard decisions about which tournaments to play and which to skip on a packed calendar. Many top players have this week opted either for the $6.5 million NedBank Golf Challenge in South Africa or a Tiger Woods-hosted competition in California.

“It is very important for the tournament to have all the big names but it’s very tough when you have different tournaments in the same week,” said Jimenez, who won by one stroke last year and also triumphed in 2004 and 2007. Taiwan’s Hsieh Yung-yo is the other golfer to have won the Hong Kong Open four times, in the 1969s and 70s. European Tour deputy international policy director Ben Cowen told AFP everything was being done to save the event, but could not say for certain if a successor to UBS as sponsor would be found.

He added that the Tour is reviewing the tournament’s dates to try to boost its lustre and stop it going the way of other events in the region. This year, Asia has lost tournaments including the Avantha Masters, which was India’s only Europeansanctioned event. The flagship Singapore Open, once dubbed “Asia’s major”, took a year’s break after being unable to find a title sponsor, and the inaugural OneAsia Championship was postponed after failing to attract enough star players.— AFP

UNIONDALE: Sidney Crosby scored the tying goal in the third period and then won it with a brilliant individual effort 3:44 into overtime as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Tuesday night. Crosby, who tied it with a power-play goal with 12:00 left in regulation, stole the puck from Thomas Vanek just outside the New York blue line, streaked down the middle between two defenseman and jammed a backhander past Anders Nilsson for his 15th goal. Nilsson was the hard-luck loser in overtime for the second straight game. New York, which has dropped seven straight (0-5-2), gave up the lead late to Washington on Saturday. Evgeni Malkin assisted on power-play goals by James Neal and Crosby to back Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 21 saves. Kyle Okposo scored twice in the first period for the Islanders, who are third from the bottom in the East.

STARS 4, BLACKHAWKS 3 Kari Lehtonen had a season-high 47 saves, Antoine Roussel converted a penalty shot in the third period and the Stars snapped the Blackhawks’ sixgame winning streak. Valeri Nichushkin had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who had dropped four of five, including consecutive shootout losses at home in their previous two games.

Alex Chiasson and Erik Cole also scored. Patrick Sharp scored his 200th goal with Chicago. The Stars appeared to be headed for a heartbreaking collapse before Roussel skated in on Corey Crawford and was awarded a penalty shot after Niklas Hjalmarsson hacked away at him with his stick. Roussel then beat Crawford with a backhander into the upper right corner at 3:01.

SHARKS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 2 Mike Brown had a goal against his former team and Joe Thornton scored on a 5-on-3 power play, leading the Sharks to their sixth straight win. Brad Stuart and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks, winners of nine of 10. Phil Kessel netted his 200th career goal and Mason Raymond also scored in Toronto’s fifth straight loss.

BLUE JACKETS 1, LIGHTNING 0 Nick Foligno scored a highlight-reel goal in the second period and Sergei Bobrovsky and Curtis McElhinney made it stand up as the Blue Jackets beat Lightning. Bobrovsky, winner of the Vezina Trophy last year as the NHL’s top goalie, stopped all 18 shots before he left with an unspecified injury 4:13 into the third period. He was replaced

by McElhinney, who made the last eight saves. Tampa Bay’s Valterri Filppula’s shot just slid past the corner of the goal as time expired and the Lightning were shut out for the second game in a row. They have lost their last five road games.

HURRICANES 4, CAPITALS 1 Jeff Skinner had two goals and an assist, Justin Peters stopped 26 shots and the Hurricanes cruised past the Capitals. Andrej Sekera and Jiri Tlusty also scored for the Hurricanes, who had lost two straight and six of eight before bouncing back to equal their most lopsided victory of the season. Skinner’s two goals and three points both tied career highs. A power-play goal by Mike Green at 6:39 of the third period ruined Peters’ bid for his fourth career shutout. Two of the goaltender’s three NHL shutouts are against the Capitals.

SENATORS 4, PANTHERS 2 Colin Greening scored the goahead goal late in the second period and Craig Anderson stopped 30 shots, leading Ottawa over the Panthers.

Bobby Ryan, Erik Condra and Joe Corvo also scored for the Senators. Jonathan Huberdeau and Brian Campbell scored goals for Florida and Tim Thomas stopped 41 shots. Ottawa won for the 13th time in its last 15 games against the Panthers. Florida remains winless in the Atlantic Division (0-6-1) this season.

CANUCKS 3, PREDATORS 1 Ryan Kesler scored a pair of third period goals, leading the Canucks to a victory over Nashville. Brad Richardson also scored for Vancouver, which has won three of four. Colin Wilson scored for Nashville, losers of three straight.

On the same day he was picked as the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for November, Nashville goalie Marek Mazanec made his 11th straight start in goal for the Predators. He had 30 saves.

KINGS 3, DUCKS 2 Martin Jones made 26 saves and stopped all eight shootout attempts to win his NHL debut, and Dwight King scored the only shootout goal in the Los Angeles Kings’ victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller made a season-high 49 saves and stopped Los Angeles’ first seven shootout attempts, but King scored on a wrist shot before Jones stopped Mathieu Perreault to end the first Freeway Faceoff of the season. Jeff Carter and captain Dustin Brown scored for the Kings, who have earned a point in 13 of their last 14 games. Corey Perry and captain Ryan Getzlaf scored for the Ducks, still the only NHL team that hasn’t lost in regulation at home.

Anaheim is 10-0-2 at Honda Center.

COYOTES 6, OILERS 2 Mike Ribeiro and Mikkel Boedker each had a goal and two assists as the Phoenix Coyotes started off a fourgame road trip with a victory over Edmonton. Radim Vrbata, Shane Doan, Keith Yandle and David Moss also scored for the Coyotes, who had lost four of their previous five games. David Perron scored twice for the Oilers, who dropped to 3-9-0 on home ice this season.—AP

CHICAGO: Dallas Stars defenseman Brenden Dillon (4) checks Chicago Blackhawks center Andrew Shaw into the glass during the third period of an NHL hockey game on Tuesday, Dec 3, 2013, in Chicago. — AP

NHL results/standings San Jose 4, Toronto 2; Pittsburgh 3, NY Islanders 2 (OT); Carolina 4, Washington 1; Columbus 1, Tampa Bay 0; Ottawa 4, Florida 2; Dallas 4, Chicago 3; Vancouver 3, Nashville 1; Phoenix 6, Edmonton 2; Los Angeles 3, Anaheim 2 (SO).

Western Conference Pacific Division W L OTL GF GA PTS San Jose 19 3 5 96 62 43 Anaheim 18 7 5 93 80 41 Los Angeles 18 7 4 76 62 40 Phoenix 16 7 4 91 86 36 Vancouver 15 10 5 80 78 35 Calgary 9 13 4 70 93 22 Edmonton 9 18 2 75 101 20 Central Division Chicago 20 5 4 105 80 44 St. Louis 18 5 3 91 60 39 Colorado 19 6 0 76 52 38 Minnesota 16 8 5 70 67 37 Dallas 13 9 4 74 76 30 Winnipeg 13 12 4 78 82 30 Nashville 13 12 3 63 78 29 Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Boston 18 7 2 75 55 38 Montreal 16 9 3 76 59 35 Detroit 14 7 7 78 73 35 Tampa Bay 16 10 1 76 67 33 Toronto 14 11 3 77 77 31 Ottawa 11 13 4 82 92 26 Florida 7 16 5 61 95 19 Buffalo 6 20 2 48 85 14 Metropolitan Division Pittsburgh 19 9 1 89 66 39 Washington 14 12 2 83 82 30 NY Rangers 14 14 0 62 71 28 New Jersey 11 12 5 61 67 27 Carolina 11 12 5 61 79 27 Philadelphia 12 13 2 57 65 26 Columbus 11 14 3 68 80 25 NY Islanders 8 15 5 74 96 21 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

Has good-bad gap with NFL quarterbacks widened?

NEW YORK: Leslie Frazier shook his head and managed a slight smile when the question was posed. How hard, the Minnesota Vikings coach was asked, has it been each week to pick a quarterback, the NFL’s most important position? “It’s not a lot of fun,” Frazier said recently.

“You’d like to say that this is your quarterback for 16 weeks, but we haven’t been in that situation.”

This hardly brings solace for the head of a struggling team like Frazier, but the Vikings are far from the only bunch either sputtering along without a long-term solution or needing a stronger backup for a starter who’s hurt. Minnesota is one of five teams that, for a variety of reasons, have started three different quarterbacks this season.

That includes the Green Bay Packers, who have started four. Whether due to failures to successfully draft and develop the next championship-capable passer or procure and produce a reliable secondstringer, the league this year has seen a clear shortage of quality quarterbacks.

“The supply and demand’s kind of out of whack,” NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. Injuries are, of course, a significant factor. The Packers have won a Super Bowl behind Aaron Rodgers, and they’ll be set at quarterback as long as he continues his career. But since he broke his collarbone last month, the Packers have lost four games and tied the other.

In the next tier down are quarterbacks who’ve shown promise such as Jay Cutler, Jake Locker and Sam Bradford but have been hurt often.

“How many times do you keep saying on Sept 1, ‘OK, this is my guy,’ and then he gets hurt again?” Mayock said.

“Regardless of talent, work ethic, toughness, when do you say enough is enough?” The Cleveland Browns have started 20 different quarterbacks since their expansion rebirth in 1999, the most in the league. From Brandon Weeden to Brian Hoyer to Jason Campbell, this season has brought more instability.

The Browns have tried every avenue to find one, too, but despite a stockpile of draft picks for a well-regarded crop of 2014 quarterback prospects there’s no guarantee the carousel will stop. Tim Couch, Brady Quinn and Weeden were all first-round picks who haven’t panned out. Christian Ponder fits in that category, the No 12 selection by the Vikings in 2011. He went two spots after Blaine Gabbert, who has been even worse for Jacksonville. Both the Vikings and Jaguars are bound to be searching far and wide again for quarterbacks in the draft in May, along with at least another half-dozen teams.

“There are about 15 quarterbacks in the league that have a chance to win a Super Bowl. Let’s just tell it like it is. And then there is everybody else,” NBC analyst

Cris Collinsworth said on a recent episode of “Inside the NFL.” “Now occasionally a Kurt Warner comes from nowhere and ends up being a guy you can count on.” That’s rare, though. In this increasingly pass-driven league, the position hasn’t been any easier to master for even the best of athletes with the strongest of arms. Even Super Bowl winners like Eli Manning and Joe Flacco have struggled this year, aberrations or not while injuries and instability swirl around them on offense.

“We’re asking quarterbacks to do what I perceive to be almost super-human things on a consistent basis,” Mayock said.

“We’re asking them to have a certain physical skill level: Arm strength, athletic ability, foot speed, hand-eye coordination. But on top of that they’ve got to process information like a computer.

We’re putting more and more of the mental piece of this on the quarterback, and the decision-making both at the line of scrimmage and in the pocket is more complicated than it’s ever been.” So, for the teams that don’t have a Hall of Famebound player like Peyton Manning or a steady young standout like Russell Wilson and haven’t succeeded in the draft, will they ever have a chance to win a championship?

Well, sure. They’ll just have to keep trying. College and high school offenses have become more complex and power-

SEATTLE: Kansas City Chiefs’ Tom Sims (rear left) Chris Martin (rear right) and Joe Phillips (right) tackle Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Warren during an NFL football game in Seattle. Five former Chiefs players are suing the team, claiming it hid the risks of head injuries. — AP ful. Summer camps around the country have helped teenagers develop their skills to much greater degrees. The nature of the NFL makes a scenario with 25 elite quarterbacks dominating the league improbable. But there’ll always be a new pool of candidates for the job.

“It’s a good time to be a quarterback.

Kids are getting reps at a younger age and developing the necessary skills,”

Denver interim coach Jack Del Rio said.

“So I don’t think there will be a shortage.

You always look at who’s going to be the next storied guy, who’s going to be the next Hall of Fame-type guy, and I think we want to crown people before they have their careers. But the talent will continue to come through the ranks, and we’ll continue to see really gifted players.” —AP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORTS

Taylor’s double ton lifts NZ to a mammoth total

MIAMI: Kyle Singler #25 and Greg Monroe #10 of the Detroit Pistons guard LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat during a game at American Airlines Arena on December 3, 2013. — AFP

Pistons end Heat ten-game streak MIAMI: Miami’s ten-game NBA winning streak came to an end with a 107-97 home-court defeat at the hands of Detroit on Tuesday, with the Pistons having seven players score in double figures as they hung on against a Heat comeback in the fourth quarter. Among the day’s other games, a makeshift Memphis outfit beat Phoenix, Dirk Nowitzki helped Dallas extend its dominance of Charlotte, and Oklahoma City made it eight-straight wins with a narrow victor y over slumping Sacramento. Detroit’s Kyle Singler top scored with 18 points in a team effort by the Pistons, who led by 18 points and saw that whittled back to three in the fourth quarter but held firm for an impressive victory. LeBron James and Michael Beasley each scored 23 for Miami, which was without guard Dwyane Wade, who again was nursing a sore knee. The Heat shot a season-low 44 percent. Memphis’ Jon Leuer scored a career-high 23 points as the understrength Grizzlies cruised to a 110-91 win over Phoenix.

Ed Davis added 21 points and 12 rebounds for Memphis, which had to deal with injuries to front-line starters Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Like the Pistons, Memphis had seven players finish in double figures and shot 55 percent from the floor to end a run of four successive home defeats. Marcus Morris led the Suns with 18 points. Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki recovered from a rough start to score 25 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, guiding the Mavericks to a 89-82 win over Charlotte. Nowitzki, who was 1 of 10 from the field in the first half, and Monta Ellis took over late after struggling most of the game. They scored the last 19 points to

help the Mavericks outscore Charlotte 2915 in the fourth. Al Jefferson scored 19 points for the Bobcats, who are 0-10 in Dallas and 1-17 overall against the Mavericks; the worst record in the league for one team against another Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Thunder to an eighth-straight win, downing Sacramento 97-95. The Thunder built a 17-point lead early in the fourth, but had to hold off the Kings and Isaiah Thomas, who scored 21 of his 24 points in the final period and missed a jumper with 1 second left that would have sent the game to over time.

Sacramento dropped its fifth straight game, and played without injured starting center and leading scorer DeMarcus Cousins. Russell Westbrook had 15 points for the Thunder, who have won 13 of the past 14 against the Kings. Golden State’s Klay Thompson made four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to fuel an improbable comeback as the Warriors came from 27 points down in the second half to beat Toronto 112-103.

Denver’s Timofey Mozgov had 17 points and a career-high 20 rebounds in another superb effort by Denver’s bench, and the Nuggets raced by Brooklyn 111-87 for their seventh straight victory. Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double, and Thaddeus Young added 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the 76ers past Orlando 126-125 in doubleovertime. Boston’s Jordan Crawford scored 25 points and Jeff Green added 18 as the Celtics beat Milwaukee 108-100, avenging two losses already this season to the lowly Bucks.—AP

DUNEDIN: Ross Taylor’s first test double century helped New Zealand to 609 for nine declared before his bowlers reduced West Indies to 67 for two as the hosts took firm control on day two of the first test in Dunedin yesterday. Taylor produced a controlled 217 not out and combined in a string of productive partnerships to push New Zealand past 600 for just the fourth time in their test history.

It was their highest score against West Indies, surpassing the 543 for three the 1972 team scored in Guyana, and the highest test score in Dunedin, eclipsing the 586 for seven New Zealand made against Sri Lanka in 1997. “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, maybe tonight it will,” Taylor, whose previous best score was an unbeaten 154 not out against England in Manchester in 2008, told Radio Sport. “I think my state of mind out there I was just trying to bat the same tempo, be pretty relaxed and play as straight as possible. “I actually feel like I’m still batting out there so hopefully it will sink in a bit more tonight.”

After the declaration, Trent Boult had Kirk Edwards caught at second slip by Peter Fulton for a duck before Tim Southee dismissed Kieran Powell caught behind for seven to reduce the tourists to 24 for two. Darren Bravo (37 not out) and Marlon Samuels (14 not out) combined to settle the innings and guide their side to the close, albeit 542 runs in arrears. Taylor curbed his typically attacking instincts on yesterday against a bowling attack far more disciplined than they had been on day one, when they won the toss and chose to bowl on the green-tinged pitch.

Such was Taylor’s control at the crease, he did not hit a six in his entire 317-ball, 491-minute innings. The 29-year-old, a renowned six-hitter in limited overs cricket with a penchant for throwing away his wicket by hitting across the line over midwicket, said he had never batted better for his country. “I think probably Manchester comes close to it,” Taylor added. “Both innings I didn’t feel great leading into it and I had to exorcise some of those demons. Mentally, I think the way I structured it, it was my

best innings.

“All through the day it was just about ticking off little things.

Getting to 150, then my highest test score, the highest score on the ground then Smithy (Ian Smith) told me that I’d never beat his 174, so I will have to remind him of that.” Taylor shared in five partnerships of more than 60 runs. The largest of 195 with captain Brendon McCullum (113) was a New Zealand record for the fourth wicket against West Indies, surpassing the 189 runs Mathew Sinclair and Nathan Astle compiled in late 1999.

The hosts had resumed the day’s play on 367 for three after Taylor and McCullum had completed centuries just before the close on Tuesday. McCullum was bowled by a Darren Sammy delivery that nipped back and hit off stump to leave the hosts 380 for four, before Corey Anderson was caught behind for a duck before lunch. Taylor and Watling (41) then shared in an 84-run partnership before the wicketkeeper was well caught by Edwards at second slip when Tino Best got a delivery to pop off a length and New Zealand were 469 for six.

Pace bowler Southee was dismissed three runs later for two, well caught by Bravo at slip after he prodded at a Narsingh Deonarine delivery, before Taylor and Ish Sodhi (35) combined for a 76-run partnership. Taylor, who had been joined by Neil Wagner, hit his 23rd boundary to move to 199 before paddling the ball behind square for three runs to reach the milestone and prompt a standing ovation from the crowd at University Oval.

He was the 13th New Zealand batsman to score a double century in test cricket. Wagner attacked after tea, blasting two sixes and three boundaries before he was run out for 37, which prompted McCullum to declare about 25 minutes into the final session. “ We could have easily been bowled out for 450 which would have been a good total but not deserved of yesterday’s performance,” said Taylor.

“Those little partnerships of 50 or 60 are always valuable and I’m sure for the rest of the series, those guys all got starts and hopefully they can continue later on.”—Reuters

DUNEDIN: Ish Sodhi of New Zealand bowls during day two of the first international cricket Test match between New Zealand and the West Indies at the University Oval yesterday. — AFP

SCOREBOARD DUNEDIN, New Zealand: Scoreboard at stumps on the second day of the first Test between New Zealand and West Indies at University Oval in Dunedin yesterday: New Zealand 1st innings (overnight 367 for 3) P. Fulton c Edwards b Sammy 61 H. Rutherford c Deonarine b Shillingford 62 A. Redmond c Samuels b Best 20 R. Taylor not out 217 B. McCullum b Sammy 113 C. Anderson c Ramdin b Best 0 B. Watling c Edwards b Best 41 T. Southee c Bravo b Deonarine 2 I. Sodhi c & b Deonarine 35 N. Wagner run out (Bravo/Best) 37 Extras (b 10, lb 10, nb 1) 21 Total: (9 wickets dec; 153.1 overs) 609 Fall of wickets: 1-95 (Rutherford), 2-117 (Redmond), 3-185 (Fulton), 4-380 McCullum), 5-385 (Anderson), 6-469 (Watling), 7-472 (Southee), 8-548 (Sodhi), 9-609 (Wagner) Did not bat: T. Boult Bowling: Best 34.1-5-148-3, Gabriel 27.5-4-148-0, Sammy 23.1-4-79-2 (1nb), hillingford 46-7-138-1, Deonarine 22-0-76-2 West Indies 1st innings K. Edwards c Fulton b Boult 0 K. Powell c Watling b Southee 7 D. Bravo not out 37 M. Samuels not out 14 Extras: (lb8, nb1) 9 Total: (2 wickets; 24 overs) 67 Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Edwards), 2-24 (Powell) To bat: S. Chanderpaul, N. Deonarine, D. Ramdin, D. Sammy, S. Shillingford, T. Best, S. Gabriel Bowling: Boult 8-5-7-1, Southee 7-1-15-1, Wagner 6-2-27-0 (1 nb), Sodhi 3-0-10-0.

NBA results/standings Philadelphia 126, Orlando 125 (OT); Boston 108, Milwaukee 100; Denver 111, Brooklyn 87; Detroit 107, Miami 97; Memphis 110, Phoenix 91; Dallas 89, Charlotte 82; Oklahoma City 97, Sacramento 95; Golden State 112 Toronto 103.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L Boston 8 12 Philadelphia 7 12 Toronto 6 11 Brooklyn 5 13 NY Knicks 3 13 Central Division Indiana 16 2 Detroit 8 10 Chicago 7 9 Cleveland 5 12 Milwaukee 3 14 Southeast Division Miami 14 4 Washington 9 9 Atlanta 9 10 Charlotte 8 11 Orlando 6 12

PCT .400 .368 .353 .278 .188

GB 0.5 0.5 2 3

.889 .444 .438 .294 .176

8 8 10.5 12.5

.778 .500 .474 .421 .333

5 5.5 6.5 8

Western Conference Northwest Division Portland 15 3 Oklahoma City 13 3 Denver 11 6 Minnesota 9 10 Utah 4 15 Pacific Division LA Clippers 12 6 Golden State 11 8 LA Lakers 9 9 Phoenix 9 9 Sacramento 4 12 Southwest Division San Antonio 15 3 Houston 13 6 Dallas 11 8 New Orleans 9 8 Memphis 9 8

.833 .813 .647 .474 .211

1 3.5 6.5 11.5

.667 .579 .500 .500 .250

1.5 3 3 7

.833 .684 .579 .529 .529

2.5 4.5 5.5 5.5

Good cricket will silence hostile crowd, says Cook ADELAIDE: England will let their cricket do the talking in the second test in Adelaide after engaging in some “ugly ” verbal exchanges with Australia during their opening loss in Brisbane, captain Alastair Cook said yesterday. The tourists slumped to a 381-run defeat in front of a hostile crowd at the Gabba, where an occasionally spiteful contest re-ignited the debate about sledging and sportsmanship.

Australia captain Michael Clarke was fined 20 percent of his match fee after he was caught by a stump microphone telling James Anderson to get ready for a “broken” arm when the paceman was batting, one of a number of heated moments during the test. Australia have pledged to maintain the aggression at Adelaide Oval when the match starts Thursday, but Cook struck a more statesmanlike tone. “I think it’s important that both sides recognize that a couple of scenes in that last test weren’t great for the game of cricket,” he told reporters. “It’s

important that we play in the right way. I think people what to see real tough cricket, that’s what they enjoy, especially between England and Australia, but there’s got to be a boundary that we don’t cross. “Maybe last week we let emotion get ahead of ourselves a little bit on some occasions and it got a little bit ugly. “Obviously Michael and I have a responsibility as captains of both sides to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Far more than taking on a team, England’s campaign to win a fourth consecutive Ashes series has at times felt like a battle against an entire nation, with unsympathetic crowds and an orchestrated media campaign joining forces. Following a Brisbane newspaper’s front-page attack on England paceman Stuart Broad on the opening day of the first test, Adelaide’s “Advertiser” has sought to embarrass the team by publishing a picture of English cricketers out on the town at 3:30 in the morning.—Reuters

KUWAIT: Mahesh receiving man of the match award from Anil Kumar.

KUWAIT: Guest of honor Santhosh Kumar meeting the players.

16th CETAA cricket - AECK, TEC, KEA book semi finals KUWAIT: On the second day of the 16th Prof Ramachandran Memorial Cricket Tournament (RMC), conducted by College of Engineering Trivandrum Alumni Association (CETAA) and sponsored by GTE Olayan Co, AECK, KEA and TEC entered the semifinals by virtue of their second consecutive wins. The last semi final spot will be decided when TKM take on NSS tomorrow in what is virtually a quarter final while the match between TEC and KEA will decide the top spot in pool B. In the first match on 29th Nov, winning the toss and batting first NIT made 62 for the loss of 7 wickets in their 12 overs with only Vinod (14) and Tarun (12) reaching double figures against the steady KEA attack. Melvin and Jim took 2 wickets each for KEA to restrict NIT. In reply, KEA easily hit off the required runs with Renju (man of the match -33 n.o.) taking control with good support from Sreejith (16). The NIT bowlers could not make much of an impression and KEA comprehensively won by 7 wickets with more than 5 overs to spare.

The second match saw an intense battle with AECK winning the toss and batting first against the determined bowling and fielding

of TKM. At one stage AECK were 70 for 6 in the 10th over with only sheet anchor Mahesh (29 - man of the match) and skipper Nitin (20) able to counter the enthusiastic TKM. But a late order flourish by Abul lais (23 off 8 balls) took the total past the 100 mark to help AECK finish on a healthy 107 for 6 wickets off their 12 overs. Mukesh took 2 wickets and Anfar, Riju and Ziad 1 wicket each for TKM. In reply TKM lost wickets at regular intervals and could not keep up with the required rate finishing on 72 for the loss of 6 wickets leaving AECK winners by 35 runs. For TKM Anfar (28) fought a lone battle among the top order and Mukesh (18 n.o.) with a late order resistance helped to decrease the margin of defeat.

Mahesh (3 wickets) again shone for AECK with good support from Munaz (2 wickets) and Abul lais (1 wicket).

In the 3rd match, winning the toss and batting first, TEC was off to their usual belligerent start with mainstay Girish (54) and Suresh (11) putting on 58 for the opening wicket.

Sreekumar (26 n.o. - man of the match) carried on the good work to enable TEC to finish on a comfortable 118 for 5 wickets of their 12

overs. For MACE Giju took 2 wickets but could not contain TEC. In reply MACE was never in the race and finished on 61 for 8 wickets off their 12 overs leaving TEC worthy winners by 57 runs. Only Saju (10) reached double figures with Merton (2), Sreekumar (2), Sajir and Girish (1 wicket each) leading TEC to a comprehensive victory.

In the last match of the day CET winning the toss, put on an improved batting performance against NSS with opener Daniel (33) showing the way with some robust hits.

Thomas John (18) provided a late order burst to help CET finish on a fighting 88 for 7 wickets off their 12 overs. In reply, NSS opener Sachin (man of the match) put paid to any ideas of a CET win with a stroke filled 66 n.o (inclusive of 6 sixers and 6 fours) well supported by Praveen (17) and NSS ran out comfortable winners by 9 wickets with 5 overs to spare. For CET, Cyriac Mattam took the only wicket to fall. On the 3rd day of the tournament (6th Dec), CET will meet AECK and KEA will play TEC (both at 7am), while TKM will clash with NSS and NIT will take on MACE (both at 9 am).

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORTS

Sun, palms, turtles backdrop for WCup draw COSTA DO SAUIPE: Sweltering temperatures and palm-tree fringed beaches home to dozens of newly-hatched turtles heading for a glistening azure sea were the setting as World Cup organizers met today to finalize preparations for tomorrow’s draw. FIFA chose the northeastern resort of Costa do Sauipe for the draw, an hour by road north of the city of Salvador, once Brazil’s capital and still the focus of the country’s African heritage.

World football’s governing body Tuesday had to accept publicly that three of the 12 tournament venues will not meet what had been a strict December 31 delivery deadline-but FIFA maintains that will not affect the event being a success. Work stopped temporarily at Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians venue last week following a fatal accident which killed two construction workers, while Cuiaba and Curitiba are also running late, with authorities saying they may not be ready before February.

But FIFA president Sepp Blatter insists everything will come together in time to stage an event to remember. Known for its fine Bahia region cuisine and carnival, Salvador also revels in the monicker of Brazil’s capital of happiness. However, that was not the image it transmitted

during last June’s Confederations Cup, when violent street protests were what put it in the headlines. Several Brazilian cities saw protests as more than a million people vented their anger at government corruption and the price tag for the World Cup and Rio 2016 Olympics-an estimated combined $26 billion (19 billion euros).

If FIFA were hoping to avoid negative publicity this time around, then the choice of Costa do Sauipe-well away from urban areas and therefore not easily accessible for would-be protesterswould seem ideal. A number of international journalists flying in to Salvador discovered local taxi drivers and workmen appeared never to have heard of the entertainment complex hosting the shindig at a reported cost of $15m.

Protest groups have promised to keep on voicing their concerns that major sporting events are hovering up public cash, which could be better spent on issues such as education and health infrastructure. Before the 32 teams are drawn in eight groups of four, a range of Brazilian acts including singers Alexandre Pires and Vanessa da Mata, and the Companhia de Danca Deborah Colker will perform.

Comperes will be actors Fernanda

Lima and Rodrigo Hilbert with the hosts seeking to showcase the diversity and quality of Brazilian culture under the official tournament slogan “All in One Rhythm.” However, even that brought a misstep as two Afro-Brazilian soap stars were overlooked with Lima and Hilbert, both white, getting the nod, to the consternation of many users of social media in Brazil, who questioned whether race had played a part in the choice.

On hand for the drawing of the balls from the pots will be stars of yesteryear including Geoff Hurst, the only man to score a World Cup final hattrick in England’s 1966 win over Germany, and France ‘98 hero Zinedine Zidane. FIFA is keeping the exact draw mechanism under wraps until tomorrow but each group will be topped by a seeded nation.

The eight seeds from the first pot are hosts Brazil, defending champions Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland.

Pot two has seven teams for the time being, including the five-strong African contingent, with pot three containing, among others, the United States, Australia and Japan. Pot four consists of the nine non-seeded European teamsincluding three former champions in

COSTA DO SAUIPE: A newborn turtle heads for the sea in Sauipe Beach, Sauipe Coast, Bahia, Brazil. — AFP England, France and Italy. One of the northern cities Manaus, Fortaleza and nine will have to be assigned to pot two. Natal than daunting rivals. “We will hope England have several times made a meal for our best but it is like Forrest Gump of getting through a seemingly easy and his box of chocolates. We will open group-they reached the last 16 in 2010 it up and see what we get, then try and as runners-up behind the USA after digest it,” Hodgson noted en route for drawing with the Americans and also Brazil. German counterpart Joachim Loew said for his part: “We’ll take things Algeria before beating Slovenia.

But coach Roy Hodgson is more wor- as they come. We don’t have a favored ried about avoiding the stifling heat of opponent.”—AFP

Hungry Brazilians believe in 6th star

BEIRUT: Players of the Stars Academy for Sports (SAS) futsal team attend a training session in Beirut. — AFP

Lebanese women futsal players kick down barriers BEIRUT: A group of Lebanese women have shrugged off family disapproval and paltry resources to create their country’s first female league for futsal-the faster, five-aside variety of football. “My family was against me playing at the start. They’d say neither football nor futsal is a women’s sport, but I fought for it, and kept on training,” said Aya Chiry, 27.

Today, Chiry is the captain of a Lebanese women’s futsal team called the Stars Academy for Sports. Along with eight other teams, SAS took part in the opening round of Lebanon’s first national women’s futsal league which kicked off at the weekend.

Chiry, who lives in Beirut, eventually managed to convince her parents “by studying extra-hard and by just keeping at it, showing them that this is what makes me happy”.

Without an official five-a-side league, there was little opportunity for either her talent or women’s futsal to be recognized.

“I’ve been playing for five years, and the sport has taken me to Spain, Italy and Jordan for games. But we didn’t have a league in Lebanon. I’m really proud we do now,” Chiry said. Like Chiry, many girls on the team have faced a lifetime of discouragement, mostly from family members who felt the game was unsuitable for women. But today Chiry combines her love for the game with her MBA studies in marketing and her job at a skincare company.

Among the team’s new recruits is Aya AlKhatib, a 20-year-old Palestinian from Jericho, who travelled to Lebanon just to play in the opening season. “Football and futsal have been part of my life since I was 11 years old,” said Khatib, who wears her hair short and dyed platinum blond. For her, sport is about much more than exercise. “Sport is the only thing that brings us together. People from many countries that have suffered problems in the past have overcome them through sport,” said Khatib, who is a midfielder on the team.

“The fact that you have to shake hands with your adversary at the start of every game means you are contributing to peace,

and that is what our region needs,” she added. For the Lebanese members of the team too, the game is a chance to forget the sectarian and political barriers that so deeply divide their country. “Our players come from all over Lebanon and from all the sects, but here we just don’t care about that. We are one team,” said Rania Chehayeb, a 30-year-old from the mountain town of Aley, whose husband “is very supportive” of her love of the game.

Lebanon has a national women’s football team, and neighboring Jordan and the Palestinian territories both have women’s futsal leagues. “There has been a women’s football league in Lebanon for seven years,” said SAS coach Wael Gharzeddine, 35. “Now we get to have a futsal league as well, and that will help give even more exposure in Lebanon to the fact that this is a women’s game too.” “It will also give our national (football) team a better chance to star in international competitions, because leagues allow more time for talent identification and training,” he added.

Gharzeddine brushes aside traditionalist naysayers. “ We’re in the 21st century.

Things have changed now. Women do jobs that were long reserved for men, while men now do things only women used to do.” Speaking on the sidelines of his team’s training on the outskirts of Beirut, he said: “Society used to see football and futsal alike as a game for boys, because they’re tough, contact sports. “But now these sports are growing fast (and) more and more girls are joining in.” Team goalkeeper Nathalie Jilinguirian, who is of Armenian origin, was keen for more girls to join the squad. “Eventually we’ll grow up and end up having kids. We won’t be able to be so committed,” the 27-year-old said while practicing shot-stopping dives. “We want younger girls and boys to join the fun, and I’d be willing to train them myself,” said Jilinguirian, who works as a physiotherapist and thanks her father for introducing her to football. “We want a new generation to take our place,” she said, before going back to her drills.— AFP

Unconvincing Spain set for title defense MADRID: Spain will rightly take their place among the top eight seeded sides for tomorrow’s World Cup draw in the Brazilian city of Salvador having won an unprecedented three consecutive major tournaments. However, in contrast to the build up to their recent triumphs, doubts surround the number one ranked side in the world’s chances of retaining the trophy they won for the first time in South Africa three-anda-half years ago.

Whilst a series of unconvincing friendly results is nothing new during Vicente del Bosque’s five-year spell in charge, it is La Roja’s lackluster performances in a number of recent competitive games that have caused concern. Spain were made to look bedraggled by an energetic young Brazil side roared on by a fervent home crowd in a 3-0 win for the hosts at the Confederations Cup in June.

Whilst the pre-cursor to the main event isn’t always a reliable gage- Spain were beaten by the United States in the 2009 Confederations Cup before returning to triumph in South Africa a year later-it was an insight as to just how tough it will be knock off Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Selecao on home soil. Moreover, the odds suggest the bookies also see Germany and Argentina as more credible candidates if Brazil are to fail to be crowned world champions for a sixth time.

Spain’s qualification campaign wasn’t stellar. Del Bosque’s men conceded late equalizers to drop points at home to Finland and France, whilst the former Real Madrid boss criticized his side’s lack of tempo as they struggled past Belarus and Georgia to seal their place in Brazil in October. — AFP

COSTA DO SAUIPE: Fortified by home advantage, Brazil are bursting to set out in pursuit of their sixth World Cup and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari says he has a good idea of his starting XI. “Big Phil” Scolari already has the kudos which comes from having coached the Selecao to their fifth crown in Japan in 2002, as well as a Confederations Cup final win over world champions Spain six months ago.

But following a 5-0 friendly success over Honduras and a 2-1 win in their final friendly of 2013 against Chile, he says his current vintage is maturing nicely and will rise to the challenge. “I haven’t as yet defined the 23-man squad and am still observing players but this is my team,” said Scolari after his side defeated a Chilean team, which impressed in the regional qualifiers, in Toronto.

Scolari, who took over the reins for a second time 12 months ago, does not have to name his squad until May 7 - they will play a final tune-up on March 5 against South Africa but will know their opening phase opponents after the December 6 draw at Costa de Sauipe. After the Brazilians unveiled their new kit in Rio on Sunday, Scolari expressed confidence in his charges. “I think we have a great chance. We shall be competing at home and we have a great team, excellent players and have our home fans behind us.”

Brazil famously lost the final of the only World Cup it has staged to date to tiny neighbors Uruguay in 1950. But the giant nation bounced back to win its first crown in Sweden eight years later, inspired by a teenage Pele. And further wins followed in 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.

After replacing Mano Menezes, Scolari was blunt as he insisted that Brazil have an “obligation” to lift the trophy at home. Their swamping of Spain in the Confederations Cup final did blow away many of the

SALVADOR: An aerial view of the Arena Fonte Nova stadium, in Salvador, Brazil. — AP recent clouds of doubt which had hung over the team and had caused many fans to question their capabilities of winning the world title.

“I think we have what it takes to be champions. With Felipao, the team has improved,” said Pele recently, giving a belated seal of approval having voiced doubts before the Confederations Cup. A pragmatist who prefers to get results rather than prioritize the “jogo bonito” (beautiful game), Scolari has been here before, having taken over a mediocre side struggling in 2001 to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. In 19 matches in charge, his record this time around reads 13 victories, four draws and just two losses. Looking forward to the draw, Scolari said that “we will be ready

from the first moment to go up against whoever we must to reach the final.” Admiring the latest variant of the famous yellow, green and blue kit Scolari joked: “There’s only one thing missing-a sixth star” which the Brazilians hope to sew on next July. Having qualified as hosts, Brazil are short on recent competitive experience but Scolari has still been able to examine the options open to him.

He brought back striker Freddropped by Menezes-and he responded with an excellent Confederations showing, dovetailing well with the mercurial Neymar.

Coupled with Oscar’s ability to read the game and the attacking muscle of Hulk, Scolari has been able to build a strong base. He now has to decide whether to find a berth for

Robinho, back in his plans after Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa elected to pin his colors to the naturalized Spanish mast. “He is turning his back on the dream of millions, representing our five-time champions at a World Cup in Brazil,” blasted Scolari. Willian of Chelsea is another to benefit from the Costa decision.

As their team takes shape under a commander who has already demonstrated his ability to get results, Brazil know above all they need only remind themselves of a single word as they look to go better than their 1950 counterparts, shocked at the Maracana by the Uruguayans. Maracanazo is the term firmly lodged ever since in the collective Brazilian psyche and which Scolari is now pledging to exorcise once and for all.— AFP

WCup on track despite stadium setback: FIFA COSTA DO SAUIPE: Global football chief Sepp Blatter insisted preparations for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil were on track Tuesday despite construction delays and a deadly accident which mean three stadiums will miss an end-of-year deadline to be ready. As the football world geared up for tomorrow’s eagerly-anticipated draw, governing body FIFA revealed three of the tournament’s 12 venues would not be able to meet the December 31 deadline for delivery.

One of the venues, Sao Paulo’s Itaquerao stadium, was the scene of a fatal accident last week which claimed the lives of two workers who were crushed to death when a crane toppled over. In addition, the delivery of stadiums at Curitiba and and Cuiaba is now set for February, just four months before the finals kick off in June. FIFA President Blatter however played down the significance of the construction delays, saying he was confident Brazil would be successful hosts of their first World Cup since 1950.

“We have just received a report. There are some small delays in construction of stadia.

But so small that with one exception (Sao Paulo) we can say everything is ready,” said Blatter. FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said the stadium in Curitiba, which has been lagging behind schedule more than the other venues, would not be ready until the end of February. “Curitiba is the one where we are

facing the most problems and won’t be delivered before the end of February 2014.

“We will be ready to get the stadium by the end of February 2014,” Valcke said.

The Arena Amazonia in Manaus, in the heart of the tropical rain forest, also remains under construction, as does the one at Cuiaba. Brazilian sports ministry executive secretary Luis Fernandes indicated that the stadia lagging behind would be delivered “in late January, or late February.” Yesterday, Brazilian Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo will be among officials fronting pre-draw events where the hosts will stress they can overcome doubts about transport links, hotel prices and urban crime.

Representatives from the Ministr y of Tourism and the Civil Aviation authority will also address complaints about unreasonably high prices. Other concerns focused on accommodation capacit y with some 600,000 foreign tourists expected to attend the month-long event starting June 12 in Sao Paulo. There is also a shor tage of domestic flight links between venues as the government mulls whether to allow foreign airlines to run domestic routes to ease the strain.

Some countries are also worried about the sheer size of the country, as some teams may face an onerous travel schedule with matches as far south as Porto Alegre, cold in

the Brazilian winter, but also in tropical Manaus, and sultry Fortaleza some 3,000 kilometers away. The draw itself will feature eight groups of four teams and one of nine non-seeded European nations will face being moved into pot 2 alongside the fivestrong African contingent and two South American sides.

England coach Roy Hodgson, whose unseeded team could be in line for a tough draw, says the geography issue is almost as important as which teams his men will face.

“There are venues in Brazil that will be harder to play in than others,” said Hodgson before heading for Costa do Sauipe from Rio. The eight seeds are hosts Brazil, reigning champions Spain, three -time winners Germany, Argentina, conquerors of two titles, fellow two-time winners Uruguay, Colombia, Belgium, and Switzerland, whom Hodgson led to the second round at USA ‘94.

With the draw venue an hour ’s drive north of the Bahia state capital Salvador, organizers are hoping the event will not be marred by the kind of popular unrest which hit last June’s Confederations Cup. Many Brazilians are angry at the estimated $11 billion cost of staging the World Cup-about another $15 billion will follow for the 2016 Rio Olympics-believing the money would have been better spent on improving public transport, education and health.— AFP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORTS

Managerless Wednesday stun Leicester LONDON: Managerless Sheffield Wednesday produced one of the great upsets of the season to beat English Championship leaders Leicester City 2-1 at Hillsborough on Tuesday. The second-tier Owls sacked Dave Jones on Sunday after just one win in all competitions so far this season but two goals from Connor Wickham helped Wednesday stop the rot after Anthony Knockaert gave City a lead in just the third minute.

First-team coach Stuart Gray, in caretaker charge, is due to hold talks with Wednesday chairman Milan Mandaric later this week about his future at the Yorkshire club. “We are disappointed for Dave,” said Gray. “I am very grateful, honored and pleased to take charge of the team tonight and that is all it was.

“The chairman has told me there are about 40 applications (for the managership) and I can understand why because it is a fantastic football club with a big fan base and a huge stadium. “You saw there tonight if the players give 100 percent commitment, the crowd get behind them. “Any manager that is out of work, and in work, would be interested in this football club.”

Gray, who worked under Jones at Wolves

and Southampton, was equivocal when asked if he would be interested in taking over at Hillsborough. “I am very disappointed Dave has gone because I worked with him at Wolves and Southampton.

“A lot of players feel they have let Dave down because he has brought them in. “I can understand why the chairman has done it because our results were not good enough. I’ve been asked to take charge of the team and all I said to the players is ‘give 100 percent’. You might have to lift the fans because the mood might be quite sombre.

“The chairman just asked me to get the team prepared for this evening. I am going to enjoy the evening and wait until I sit down with the chairman before I make any statement.” Leicester manager Nigel Pearson said: “We got off to a good start and didn’t back it up. “We conceded two poor goals from our own perspective, but they would probably argue they were two good finishes. “We should have managed the ball better, but we gave them something to build on, hang on to. But Pearson insisted complacency was not an issue, adding: “No complacency. It’s a word people overuse. No complacency. We had too many players having off days, if you like.”— AFP

A Tokyo district’s uphill quest for the perfect bobsleigh TOKYO: At the end of November, Satoshi Kosugi got terrible news: the bobsleigh he and a group of Tokyo manufacturers had spent two years building for the Sochi Olympics would not be used by the Japanese national team. Japan has sent bobsledders to the Winter Olympics before but due to budget constraints they had always raced in used, foreign-made sleighs that didn’t fit Japanese athletes properly. Kosugi decided to rectify the situation, and so began the quest to create a homemade sleigh the national team could use at the Olympics for the first time.

It was a brave move, given that foreign teams are often supported by giant corporations. Ferrari develops for the Italian team, BMW supports the Germans and NASA has backed up the US team in the past. “I just couldn’t believe the decision,” said Kosugi, fighting for calm a day after the news came in. The project began in 2011 when Kosugi, a civil servant in Ota - a proud but struggling area known for its small manufacturers heard that the national team had never used a Japanese-built sleigh before.

“The foreign sleighs were a little too big for Japanese, and when it had problems no mechanics were available to fix them,” he said. “The sleigh the Japanese athletes used was once repaired with adhesive tape.” So Kosugi and a group of businessmen from Ota, whose tiny factories have produced parts for rockets and Formula One cars but has been in slow decline since the glory days

of the 1980s, decided something needed to be done - both for the team and to restore the lustre of Ota’s name.

Ota, on the southern edge of central Tokyo, is known as a logistics hub. It had 4,300 firms in 2008, the latest year for which data is available, but was hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis and the massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which prompted big companies to move their product bases abroad. “The most terrifying thing for us was losing markets,” said Junichi Hosogai, chairman of the bobsleigh project committee and the president of Material, a non-ferrous metals processing firm. “It was necessary for us to make an appeal for our technology by creating something symbolic to grab markets.” When the call for the project went out, a number of factories hesitated at first, since Tokyo has very little snow and they were not familiar with the sport. They also did not think there would be any financial benefits.

Still, 30 firms stepped forward. The first step was borrowing a bobsleigh from a university in northern Japan that had a team and taking it apart to draw a blueprint. Two hundred different parts were needed. Each company then built sections of the bobsleigh according to its own speciality. The first prototype, which came together in only 10 days, was finished in October 2012. “Even though we were used to quick deliveries, we had to work late at night and it was hard to come up with ideas,” said Hosogai, whose firm produced some 50 parts.—Reuters

Photo of the day

Peter Besenyei performs during the Red Bull Air Race press conference in Gdynia, Poland.— www.redbull.com

Lille beat Marseille; Enyeama keeps 11th straight clean sheet PARIS: Lille beat Marseille 1-0 Tuesday with a late goal from Nolan Roux to consolidate second place in the French league and put pressure on leader Paris Saint-Germain. Roux scored his sixth goal this season by heading a cross from Florent Balmont into the bottom corner in the first minute of stoppage time, while Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama kept an 11th straight clean sheet in the league.

Lille pulled within a point of PSG and is nine points clear of Marseille. “I’m sorry for those who will say: again a 1-0 victory,” Lille coach Rene Girard said. “Football is about defending and attacking. We did attack since we scored a goal.

We’re efficient. We don’t dominate by creating 20 chances per game. But we step up when it matters.” Monaco earned a third straight victory by defeating Nice 3-0 to stay in third place, one point behind Lille, while Nantes edged Valenciennes 2-1 to move provisionally into fifth place.

Florian Thauvin was booed by the crowd at Stade Pierre Mauroy every time he touched the ball. The Marseille forward went on strike this summer to obtain a transfer from his former club, Lille. Lille tested Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda with long-range strikes from Ronny Rodelin in the fifth minute and Balmont in the 14th. But Andre-Pierre Gignac was the most threatening player in the first half, forcing Enyeama to punch away his cross-shot in the 17th. The Marseille striker then rolled away from Lille defender Simon Kjaer to be clean through on goal in the 24th, but Enyeama denied him.

The Lille goalkeeper frustrated the visitors in the second half, stopping a close-range effort from Gignac in the 54th, a drive from Thauvin and a volley from Gignac in the 63rd. Marseille lost France playmaker Mathieu Valbuena and Dimitri Payet to injuries in the 72nd and the 78th, respectively. Payet picked up a left calf strain whereas Valbuena suffered a left shoulder injury that will sideline him for at least four weeks. “We should have scored and taken the lead,” Marseille coach Elie Baup said. “Conceding that goal in stoppage time really hurts. It’s unfair given the game we had.”

Monaco played without Colombia striker Radamel Falcao, who is recovering from a thigh injury. But it hardly mattered as Monaco converted its first two scoring chances. Colombia

NORD: Marseille’s French forward Andre-Pierre Gignac (right) vies with Lille’s French defender Dijbril Sidibe during the French L1 football match Lille (LOSC) vs Marseille (OM) on December 3, 2013. — AFP midfielder James Rodriguez put Monaco ahead with a curling shot from a tight angle in the fifth minute before striker Emmanuel Riviere outjumped the Nice defense in the 23rd to meet a cross from Anthony Martial and send a looping header inside the far post for his seventh goal this season.

Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic protected his team’s lead by stopping a low volley from Nice winger Valentin Eysseric in the seventh and tipping around the post a low drive from Argentine striker Dario Cvitanich in the 26th.

Riviere then wasted two good chances. The Monaco striker sent a chip over the bar in the 38th and lost his balance with the goal at his mercy after skipping past Nice goalkeeper Luca Veronese in the 56th. However, Monaco substi-

tute Lucas Ocampos put the result beyond doubt by stealing the ball from Nice defender Mathieu Bodmer and dribbling past Veronese to slot into an empty net in the 89th.

“We had the match under control,” Monaco coach Claudio Ranieri said. “I asked my players to play aggressively but also to keep calm.” Jose Saez gave Valenciennes the lead with a lob in the 52nd before Nantes forward Alejandro Bedoya leveled with a long-range strike that deflected off defender Benjamin Angoua in the 59th. Valenciennes goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau saved a penalty from Filip Djordjevic in the 72nd after the Nantes striker was fouled

by Angoua. But Nantes substitute Fernando Aristeguieta scored the winner by volleying home a corner in the 89th.—AP

Chamakh’s goal takes Palace off the bottom Michel Platini

UEFA boss denies Sarkozy deal on Qatar 2022 WCup MADRID: UEFA chief Michel Platini denied yesterday that he had made a deal over dinner with then French president Nicolas Sarkozy to support Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup. But Platini, the French head of the ruling body for European football, said Sarkozy’s wishes were clear. In an interview published in Spanish sports daily AS, Platini said he was invited to dinner at the French president’s Elysee Palace in Paris ahead of a December 2, 2010 FIFA vote in which Qatar was chosen to organise the 2022 World Cup. “I received a call from the president of the Republic of France, which is my country as everyone knows,” Platini said. “When I arrived I met the emir of Qatar and the prime minister of the emirate. No-one had told me of their presence. “We dined together but just as I say that no-one told me the Qataris were going to be there, I state emphatically that president Sarkozy did not ask me to vote for Qatar as host of the 2022 World Cup before, during or after that meeting.”

Nevertheless, Platini said he understood what the French president wanted. “I could understand for myself that Sarkozy was interested in Qatar organising the World Cup. But he did not make that request to me,” Platini said. The UEFA boss said the decision in favour of Qatar could not now be changed, despite criticism of the choice, notably because of the scorching summer

heat. Asked what chance there was of a change of country for the 2022 World Cup, he replied: “None.” “Perhaps we can change the month but not the country.” Platini said FIFA and UEFA agreed that playing the World Cup in summer in Qatar was “not ideal”. “But it has to be Qatar that takes the decision. In any case, FIFA has decided not to get involved in the matter until after the World Cup in Brazil.” Tiny, resource-rich Qatar has proved a contentious choice since being awarded World Cup hosting rights following a bidding process tainted with corruption allegations. Following strong and lengthy protests, FIFA boss Sepp Blatter, who has passionately defended the Gulf nation’s right to host the global extravaganza, has agreed to move the World Cup to the end of 2022 to avoid Qatar’s summer. Rights groups called for a boycott of the World Cup over an Amnesty report that foreign workers suffer exploitation, including non-payment of wages and hazardous conditions. French-Algerian footballer Zahir Belounis says he was forced to remain in Qatar for 17 months because his employers the Al-Jaish club, whose chairman is Sheikh Joaan bin Khalifa bin Ahmad Al-Thani, brother of the emir, refused him an exit permit. Belounis is suing Al-Thani in a Paris court. Blatter has called conditions for migrant workers “unacceptable”. However, Qatar said the allegations were “exaggerated”. — AFP

LONDON: Marouane Chamakh’s goal took Cr ystal Palace off the bottom of the Premier League table as they beat West Ham 1-0 in Tony Pulis’s first home game in charge at Selhurst Park on Tuesday.

Chamakh scored the only goal of the game-the Moroccan’s first since August 24 - when he headed in Barry Bannan’s curling cross in the 42nd minute. The striker had previously scored just one goal this season-although that was still one goal more than he managed in five months on loan at West Ham last term. West Ham came into this all London clash boosted by a 3-0 win over Fulham but have still to record back-to-back Premier League wins since being promoted last year.

Victory left Palace just three points adrift of safety and West Ham, one of several clubs on 13 points who could yet get drawn into a relegation battle. “We stayed strong and didn’t give them the chances to score and I hope it will be like that every week until the end of the season,” said Pulis.

Meanwhile West Ham manager Sam Allardyce bemoaned his side’s performance at both ends of the pitch. “Not enough cutting edge. I think that’s the problem for us,” Allardyce said. “Then we gave away the most ridiculous goal I’ve seen in a long, long time from our point of view. “I haven’t got the words for it when everybody has a marker and the ball comes in from the corner, you still have your marker, you don’t lose your marker but we did and being in the middle of the goal with a free header they’re not going to miss. “That’s the most disappointing thing for me today (Tuesday) because that’s lost us the game effectively.

“On such a crucial game we should not have let that slip. A point at the end of the day wouldn’t have been a bad result. It’s all

our fault today.” Palace captain and Australia international Mile Jedinak, released Jason Puncheon early on, only for Puncheon to shoot tamely at Jussi Jaaskelainen. West Ham, however, then looked the more likely to open the scoring with Mark Noble failing to connect properly with a close-range shot following a wellworked free-kick routine. The Hammers then created another fine chance only for Mohamed Diame to head over the bar from Stewart Downing’s curling cross.

And moments later Palace took the lead when, after Bannan’s initial cross was blocked, the Scotland midfielder whipped in a second ball glanced in by the now unmarked Chamakh. The second half saw Palace go in search of a second goal that would put the result beyond doubt and give Pulis the boost of a victory after his first game in charge ended in defeat by Norwich last weekend. Another Bannan cross was headed narrowly over by Kagisho Dikgacoi and Jaaskelainen did well to spread himself to deny Cameron Jerome after he raced through one-onone. West Ham, however, did have the ball in the net after 65 minutes when England winger Downing lashed in a low volley but James Tomkins had already been penalized for a foul in the area, although it looked as if the Hammers man had been impeded first. Palace substitute Jimmy Kebe also had a ‘goal’ ruled out moments later when he turned in Jedinak’s pull-back but was flagged for offside. West Ham pushed for an equaliser late on but Ravel Morrison and James Collins were off target, while Kebe shot over the top in stoppagetime for Palace. An angry Morrison was booked after the final whistle for shoving Joel Ward in the face.— AFP

LONDON: West Ham United’s Welsh defender James Collins (right) heads the ball clear in front of Crystal Palace’s Cameron Jerome during the English Premier League football match between Crystal Palace and West Ham United at the Selhurst Park in south London on December 3, 2013. — AFP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORTS

Everton worsen United’s misery Man United 0

Everton 1

WEST BROMWICH: West Bromwich Albion’s English-born Scottish midfielder James Morrison (right) tackles Manchester City’s French midfielder Samir Nasri (left) during the English Premier League football match between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City yesterday. —AFP

City beat West Brom Man City 3

West Brom 2

WEST BROMWICH: Yaya Toure scored twice as Manchester City found a cure to its problems away from home by beating West Bromwich Albion 3-2 in the Premier League yesterday. Sergio Aguero put third-place

City ahead in the ninth minute at The Hawthorns, setting Manuel Pellegrini’s team on its way to only a second away win that keeps it six points behind leader Arsenal.

The only blot for City on a night that saw captain Vincent Kompany return from 10 games out through injury were the late goals they conceded, with goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon turning the ball into his own net in the 85th and Victor Anichebe scoring in injury time. Toure had earlier finished off a classy team move to make it 2-0 in the 24th before converting a 74thminute penalty.—AP

Southampton slump 3rd successive defeat Southampton 2

Villa 3

SOUTHAMPTON: Southampton slumped to their third successive defeat and first at home this season as they lost 3-2 to Aston Villa in an absorbing Premier League tussle yesterday. The hosts had twice fought back to level only for former Leeds United player Fabian Delph to score a cracking winner for Villa, who extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to five matches.

Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino had to hand a rare start to third choice ‘keeper 21-year-old Paulo Gazzaniga-injuries to Artur Boruc and Kelvin Davis ruling them out-and the Argentinean was picking the ball out of his net after a quarter of an hour.

It was rough justice on the hosts as they had barely allowed Villa a touch but had failed to turn their pressure into a goal and were hit by a counterattack and a fine goal

by Gabriel Agbonblahor. Saints, though, were far from deflated by conceding that

goal and they might have equalized on the half-hour mark, Jay Rodriguez forcing a fine save out of Brad Guzan. Rodriguez, who won his first cap for England last month in the friendly against Chile, did get the ball in the net three minutes into the second half as his header from Nathaniel Clyne’s cross powered past Guzan.

The hosts should have got a second shortly after wards as Pablo Daniel Osvaldo’s deft backheel looked to have beaten the impressive Guzan, but the American got down well to save. No sooner had that happened than Villa regained the lead as Libor Kozak headed in Karim El Ahmadi’s superb cross-the scorer’s reward was to be immediately replaced by Belgian striker Christian Benteke, who had been left on the bench after failing to score in the past seven games. The Saints, though, showing the huge character that has symbolized their impressive Premier League campaign thus far, leveled again as Osvaldo was on hand to head home after England striker Rickie Lambert had headed across goal to set the Italian up. However, the previously rock-solid Southampton defensewho had only conceded 10 goals in the previous 13 Premier League games-allowed Delph the freedom to run at them and then unleash a superb shot from 25 yards to restore the visitors’ lead for good.— AFP

PSG unbeaten run brought to an end PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain failed to equal the record for their longest unbeaten run in France’s top flight as they suffered a shock 2-0 defeat away to Evian yesterday.

Youngster Clarck Nsikulu put Evian in front at the end of a counterattack with 15 minutes remaining in freezing Annecy, and on-loan Marseille winger Modou Sougou made sure of the win for the home side when he added another in the 87th minute.

That goal came just seconds after Javier Pastore had missed a glorious chance to bring the defending champions level, and the result ends PSG’s unbeaten record under Laurent Blanc. Indeed, the capital club’s sequence of Ligue 1 matches without defeat ends at 26, one short of the club record set in their title-winning 1993-94 campaign. And their overall run without losing in all competitions ends at 36 matches, also one short of the club record.

However, that sequence does not include a defeat to Evian on penalties in the quarter-finals of the French Cup last season, and now the club from the shadow of the Alps can claim to be PSG’s bogey side. “This win is marvelous for all our fans, the whole region. I have to congratulate my players,” said Evian coach Pascal Dupraz, who nevertheless admitted his frustration that his side were unable to produce such performances on a regular basis.

Blanc’s side are now just a single point clear of Lille at the top of the table, with the northern side having beaten Marseille 1-0 on Tuesday, with Nolan Roux scoring a stoppage-time winner as Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama kept his 11th consecutive clean sheet. Meanwhile, Monaco are just one point futher behind in third after they won 3-0 away to Nice in a Cote d’Azur derby on Tuesday, achieved without Radamel Falcao, as the Colombian missed a second successive game due to injury.

James Rodriguez, Emmanuel Riviere and Lucas Ocampos got the goals for Claudio Ranieri’s men, as Nice fell to a

sixth straight defeat. Elsewhere yesterday, veteran goalkeeper Mickael Landreau broke the record for the most appearances by any player in France’s top flight as he started for Bastia in their Corsican derby draw with Ajaccio. French international Landreau played his 603rd Ligue 1 game, three days after equalling the previous record held by former Monaco ‘keeper Jean-Luc Ettori, in a game played on neutral ground on the mainland at the Stade Parsemain, home of second-tier club Istres.

But Landreau, formerly of Nantes, PSG and Lille, was unable to help Bastia beat their island rivals as the game ended in a 1-1 draw, a late Eduardo strike for Ajaccio cancelling out Florian Raspentino’s early opener. “It is fabulous to experience this and to be able to share it,” said Landreau after the match. “The game was played behind closed doors, but I prepare for every match in the same manner.

“I can feel what this represents, and it is massive.” Saint-Etienne missed the chance to reclaim fifth spot as they went down 3-1 away to Rennes in Brittany, with Argentine striker Silvio Romero scoring his first two goals in French football for the hosts. Bordeaux inflicted a first home defeat on Guingamp since the opening day of the season, winning 1-0 thanks to a solitary Julien Faubert strike, while Lorient increased the pressure on beleagured Montpellier coach Jean Fernandez with a 2-0 victory at the Stade de la Mosson.

Maxime Barthelme put Lorient ahead before Cameroon international forward Vincent Aboubakar scored his ninth goal of the season from the penalty spot at the death after the home side had been reduced to nine men by the dismissals of Vitorino Hilton and Abdelhamid ElKaoutari. However, Montpellier’s plight is not as serious as that of Sochaux, who remain rooted to the bottom seven points from safety after losing 2-0 at home to Reims. The midweek round of games concludes today when mid-table duo Lyon and Toulouse meet at the Stade de Gerland.— AFP

MANCHESTER: Br yan Oviedo scored the only goal as Everton recorded a shock 1-0 win over a Manchester United side managed by their former boss David Moyes that put a huge dent in the champions Premier League title defense.

Yesterday’s result left United 12 points adrift of leaders Arsenal and was the first time Everton, whom Moyes left at the end of last season to replace the retired Alex Ferguson, had won at Old Trafford since 1992. Moyes endured a miserable evening, which began with him being jeered by his former supporters.

United went close to taking the lead when Wayne Rooney’s deflected shot came back off the post in the opening period before Danny Welbeck headed on to the bar from close range in the second half. But Costa Rican Oviedo, signed by Moyes in 2012, turned in from close range to secure Everton’s win with five minutes left.

Everton manager Roberto Martinez had promised that the Blues would show that they are shedding a supposed inferiority complex against the Premier League’s top sides and from the start they were keen to prove his point.

Romelu Lukaku caused early panic in the United defense as the hosts scrambled to clear a cross from Kevin Mirallas under pressure from the striker. Lukaku thumped wide from just outside the area and then had an effort deflected wide off Nemanja Vidic after Ross Barkley stole the ball from Shinji Kagawa in midfield. United’s defense, with Chris Smalling playing alongside Vidic at centre-back,

MANCHESTER: Manchester United’s Patrice Evra (bottom right) attempts to head past Everton’s Steven Pienaar (centre) during their English Premier League soccer match at Old Trafford Stadium yesterday. — AP struggled to get the ball away from the Steven Pienaar corner that followed before David de Gea was forced to tip over a power ful Mirallas shot.

The home side finally played their way into the match and a spell of pressure resulted in the ball falling for former Everton forward Rooney, whose drive was turned away by Tim Howard.

Former United goalkeeper Howard impressed again when he pushed away Kagawa’s close-range effort.

And United went even closer to a goal when Antonio Valencia found space down the right and clipped over a cross that was glanced just wide by Ryan Giggs, playing for the first time since turning 40 last week.

Howard was beaten when Giggs picked out Rooney and the England striker’s shot deflected off

Sylvain Distin but the ball came back off the inside of the post. Evra was in determined mood and broke beyond Mirallas to see a firm shot pushed away by Howard shortly after the interval. A poor header from Marouane Fellaini against his old club gifted Everton possession in a dangerous area and United’s Belgium midfielder was relieved to see Chris Smalling divert Barkley’s shot wide of goal.

Moyes attempted to put some energy into his team when he threw on Nani and Adnan Januzaj for Kagawa and Rafael just before the hour. But when the ball fell for Nani on the edge of the area the Portuguese lifted his shot well over the bar. After being fortunate not to be sent off in the 2-2 draw at Cardiff last month, Rooney once again allowed his frustration to get the better of him, missing with an

attempt to kick Phil Jagielka and earning a yellow card. Everton substitute Gerard Deulofeu was played in by Lukaku but could only come up with a disappointing shot straight at de Gea. And United broke down the other end of the field for Januzaj’s long-range effort to be palmed over unconvincingly by Howard.

The home side were denied by the woodwork once again when Howard was at full stretch to keep out Evra’s header from Rooney’s corner before Welbeck headed on to the bar from close range.

Mirallas went close to putting Everton in front when his free-kick came back off the outside of the post. But shor tly after wards, Everton got their breakthrough when Lukaku scuffed a shot to the far post and Oviedo turned in from six yards.—AFP

Tottenham ease pressure on boss Andre Villas-Boas Fulham 1

Spurs 2

LONDON: Tottenham eased the pressure on boss Andre Villas-Boas as Lewis Holtby’s strike capped a dramatic late fightback in yesterday’s 2-1 win at Fulham. Villas-Boas’ team were in danger of suffering another embarrassing setback when Ashkan Dejagah gave the struggling hosts a surprise lead early in the second half.

But Vlad Chiriches’ first Tottenham goal and a cool finish from Holtby eight minutes from fulltime spared Villas-Boas’ blushes and gave the sixth placed north Londoners their first win in five Premier League matches. While Villas-Boas was able to celebrate a much-needed three points, it was a frustrating start for Fulham’s new

manager Rene Meulensteen following Martin Jol’s sacking at the weekend.

Fulham have lost six consecutive league matches and former Manchester United coach Meulensteen faces a tough task to lift the third bottom Cottagers out of the relegation zone.

Paulinho and Erik Lamela, two of Villas-Boas’ under-performing big-money signings, wasted gilt-edged chances for Spurs in a first half that Fulham shaded through territory and possession. Brazilian midfielder Paulinho fired wide after Jermain Defoe had sent him clear on goal, spurning the first definitive opportunity of the match.

The closest the home side came to a real chance was from Pajtim Kasami’s early throughball to Dimitar Berbatov. The former Tottenham striker, reportedly keen to quit Craven Cottage in the January transfer window, looked well-placed to control and sneak through for a one-on-one with Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. But his first touch let him down at the crucial moment and the half-chance was gone. After that it was Spurs’ chance to turn wasteful once again.

Defoe cut clear on the left after a deep clearance, held up play well, and waited for Lamela’s well-timed delayed run into the box. The former West Ham striker’s pass begged for a finish but instead Lamela side-footed wide. Lamela was once again in action with a rising drive from the edge of the area, but Fulham goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg was easily equal to the challenge. Fulham took a surprise lead in the 56th minute when Dejagah capitalised on fine work by Berbatov, cutting into the box after the Bulgarian’s sharp pass to slide the ball past Lloris.

But Meulensteen’s men were unable to hold out, with Romania defender Chiriches firing in with a first-time strike after a loose headed clearance from a Fulham corner in the 73rd minute.

Just as Fulham looked to hit back, Spurs struck again to steal the points when German midfielder Holtby smashed home in the 82nd minute to claim his first Premier League goal since his move from Schalke in January. Fulham pressed for an equalizer, but Berbatov clipped wide before Kasami struck the outside of a post with the final chance.—AFP

Swansea thrash Newcastle 3-0

STOKE: Stoke City’s Marc Wilson (right) and Cardiff City’s Fraizer Campbell compete for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match at the Britannia Stadium yesterday. — AP

Stoke and Cardiff stay above relegation zone Stoke 0

Cardiff 0

STOKE: Stoke and Cardiff stayed above the

relegation zone after playing out an uninspiring scoreless draw in the Premier League yesterday. Stoke had a goal disallowed at the end of the first half after Geoff Cameron was caught offside. Cardiff had a chance earlier but Asmir Begovic denied Jordon Mutch’s effort with a good save.

Cardiff almost scored in injury time as teenager Declan John saw his shot toward the bottom corner saved by Begovic. Stoke and Cardiff both have 14 points from 14 matches.— AP

SWANSEA: Swansea City brought Newcastle United’s Swansea 3 four-game winning run in the Premier League to a juddering Newcastle 0 halt with a 3-0 victory at the Liberty Stadium yesterday. Substitute Nathan Dyer broke the deadlock with a volley on the stroke of half-time, with an own goal from Newcastle right-back Mathieu Debuchy and a late Jonjo Shelvey strike completing victory.

It was only a second win in seven home games for Michael Laudrup’s side, who climbed two places to 11th in the standings, while Newcastle slipped one place to seventh. Swansea recalled goalkeeper Michel Vorm after a knee injury, while Newcastle manager Alan Pardew kept faith with the team that had started in Saturday’s 2-1 home win over West Bromwich Albion. Loic Remy has been instrumental in Newcastle’s fine recent run, but the French striker was denied a ninth goal in 10 league games when Vorm produced a tremendous flying save to push away his early header.

With Michu and Wilfried Bony still sidelined by injury, Alvaro Vasquez led the line for the hosts and he threatened to break the deadlock with an angled drive that flew narrowly wide. It was to be the on-loan Getafe forward’s last significant contribution, however, as he was forced to leave the fray shortly afterwards with an apparent groin injury.

Luckily for Swansea, Dyer proved a more than adequate replacement, volleying in the opening goal in first-half stoppage time after Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul could only palm an Alejandro Pozuelo cross into the air.

Dyer and Shelvey both threatened early in the second half, with Vorm thwarting Shola Ameobi at the other end, before Swansea doubled their advantage in the 67th minute. Pozuelo dispatched a through ball for Shelvey to chase and although Krul blocked the former Liverpool midfielder’s shot, the ball bounced off the unfortunate backtracking Debuchy and into the net. Shelvey would not be prevented from writing his name on the score-sheet, however, and he capped victory in the 81st minute with a fine shot from 25 yards.—AFP

Everton worsen United’s misery

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PSG unbeaten run brought to an end

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

UEFA boss denies Sarkozy deal on Qatar 2022

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LONDON: Arsenal’s German midfielder Mesut Ozil (top) goes over in a tangle with Hull City’s English defender Liam Rosenior (below) during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Hull City yesterday. — AFP

Arsenal maintain their four-point lead Arsenal 2

Hull o LONDON: A goal early in each half from Nicklas Bendtner and Mesut Ozil allowed Arsenal to maintain their four-point advantage at the top of the Premier League table by beating Hull City 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium yesterday. The hosts made five changes from the side that had won 3-0 at Cardiff City on Saturday, with Carl Jenkinson replacing the injured Bacary Sagna and Tomas Rosicky, Nacho Monreal, Mathieu Flamini and

Bendtner allowing Mikel Arteta, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud to rest on the bench.

Hull, 2-1 winners at the Emirates in September 2008, made two alterations to the side that beat Liverpool 3-1 on Sunday-the East Yorkshire club’s first win over the Merseysiders in their history-with James Chester and Danny Graham coming in for the suspended Curtis Davies and Robert Koren, who dropped to the bench.

Bendtner had not started an Arsenal game in the Premier League since March 2011 but needed just 90 seconds to open the scoring. Aaron Ramsey’s pass allowed Jenkinson to launch a pacy cross from the right and the Denmark forward timed his run perfectly to head it past Allan McGregor in the Hull goal.

McGregor soon had to save a close-range shot from Laurent Koscielny as Arsenal dominated and Bendtner almost doubled the lead when the Scotland goalkeeper could not hold on to Germany playmaker Ozil’s shot. Bendtner was first to the loose ball but was too clumsy trying to take it past McGregor and ended up putting it wide. Yannick Sagbo failed to connect with a decent ball to the back post as Hull retaliated for the first time but Arsenal were soon back in control, with Koscielny scooping over from a corner and Aaron Ramsey too high with a drive from outside the box.

McGregor did well to tip a better Ramsey effort round a post but Hull began to enjoy some possession and a dangerous cross from Tom

Huddlestone flashed across the Arsenal box before Chester headed wide from a corner. The last chance of the half was Arsenal’s, with Ozil heading a Bendtner cross wide, but he doubled the scoring within two second-half minutes. Monreal only just kept the ball in play in the build up but Ramsey’s reverse pass gave Ozil just enough goal to aim at and he slipped the ball effortlessly past McGregor.

The goalkeeper again did well to deny Ramsey and Bendtner’s header from the corner was headed off the line by Robbie Brady. Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was hurt when Sagbo slid in and caught his head but he was soon able to continue and the Pole saved a shot from Jake Livermore shortly afterwards.

Suarez shines as Liverpool rout Norwich Liverpool 5

Norwich 1 LIVERPOOL: Luis Suarez proved once again he is one of the world’s finest strikers with four goals that were the cornerstone of Liverpool’s 5-1 Premier League thrashing of Norwich at Anfield yesterday. The Uruguay striker needed just 34 first-half minutes to smash his hat-trick and added his fourth goal with a spectacular 74th-minute free-kick as Liverpool rampaged back to form.

It was his third hat-trick against Norwich in the last four clashes between the sides and the first time in Premier League history any player has bagged three trebles against the same team. Suarez lifted his total for the season to 13 goals and proved Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge could be maintained without his injured strike partner Daniel Sturridge.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had demanded an instant response from his side after a dismal 3-1 defeat at Hull City on Sunday, and his players delivered in style at Anfield. Playmaker

Philippe Coutinho returned to the starting line-up against Norwich after only being fit enough for a place on the bench at Hull. After conceding three goals for the second successive game, Rodgers also switched around his defence, with Kolo Toure axed to make way for Daniel Agger, who was dropped at the KC Stadium.

Liverpool looked nervous in the opening exchanges against a Norwich side fresh from a win over struggling Crystal Palace. But they soon settled, in the 15th minute, when Suarez broke the deadlock in devastating fashion. Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy would have been disappointed with a goal-kick that made it only as far as Martin Skrtel. When the centre-half headed the ball straight back towards the Kop end, Suarez allowed it to bounce twice before taking it in his stride to smash a 35yard right-footed shot past Ruddy.

Suarez’s second goal, in the 28th minute, was equally as clinical, although this time he delivered the final blow with his left foot after swivelling just inside the six-yard box to meet Coutinho’s corner. Anfield was positively buzzing just six minutes later when Suarez returned to his right foot to claim the hat-trick. The striker had made Leroy Fer look leaden-footed when he flicked the ball over him on the edge of the

English Premier League table LONDON: English Premier League table after yesterdayís matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Arsenal 14 11 1 2 29 10 34 Swansea 14 5 3 6 20 19 18 Chelsea 14 9 3 2 28 14 30 Hull 14 5 2 7 12 18 17 Man City 14 9 1 4 40 14 28 West Brom 14 3 6 5 17 19 15 Liverpool 14 8 3 3 30 17 27 Stoke 14 3 5 6 12 18 14 Everton 14 7 6 1 22 13 27 Cardiff 14 3 5 6 11 20 14 Tottenham 14 7 3 4 13 15 24 Norwich 14 4 2 8 12 28 14 Newcastle 14 7 2 5 19 21 23 West Ham 14 3 4 7 12 15 13 Southampton 14 6 4 4 18 13 22 Fulham 14 3 1 10 12 26 10 Man Utd 14 6 4 4 22 18 22 Crystal Palace 14 3 1 10 8 22 10 Sunderland 14 2 2 10 11 28 8 Aston Villa 14 5 4 5 16 16 19

Chelsea win thriller Sunderland 3

Chelsea 4

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool’s Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez shoots towards goal during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Norwich City at Anfield yesterday. — AFP box and then drilled his shot low across the box and in at Ruddy’s left-hand post. Liverpool continued to press after the restart and could have added a fourth in the 51st minute when captain Steven Gerrard stooped to head a cross goal-bound, but Ryan Bennett cleared off the line.

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson, who had fired wide with a long-range effort in the first half, tried his luck again from distance in the 56th minute, but Ruddy tipped the effort over the crossbar. Suarez was not finished with his hunt for goals, trying to squeeze one in for an acute angle in the 63rd minute, but it drifted inches wide of Ruddy’s right-hand post. He finally added his fourth, in the 73rd minute, stepping up to

curl a 25-yard free-kick right-footed over the Norwich wall and beyond Ruddy’s dive into the top left corner.

Norwich pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute when Bradley Johnson glanced a header from a deep cross beyond helpless Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. But Liverpool restored their four-goal lead when Raheem Sterling, who had done little all evening, pounced form close range in the 88th minute.

Liverpool face a tough December, with clashes against Tottenham, Manchester City and Chelsea, so this performance was just what they needed to fire a signal that their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are still very much alive. — AFP

SUNDERLAND: Eden Hazard kept Chelsea hot on the heels of Premier League leaders Arsenal as the Belgian’s dazzling display inspired a thrilling 4-3 victory at Sunderland yesterday. A ninth consecutive victory at the Stadium of Light ensured Jose Mourinho’s men remain four points behind Arsenal after they fought back from a goal down to add to the relegation worries of the hosts.

Hazard embellished a man-of-the-match display by scoring in each half, but it was only when Phil Bardsley put through his own goal, inadvertently sliding home substitute Demba Ba’s cross with six minutes left, that Chelsea could start to enjoy a hardfought victory, their third away in the league this season.

Even then, there was time for Bardsley to partially atone, firing home from close range after the visitors failed to clear an 86th minute corner, to ensure a nervy finale. In the first of three consecutive league games against sides in the bottom five, Chelsea seemed to initially ignore the warning from Mourinho that their hosts were in a false position, as Sunderland took a 14th minute lead through Jozy Altidore.

The deadlock-breaking effort owed much to some poor defending from John Terry, who failed to push out when Andrea Dossena’s free-kick was blocked, playing three Sunderland players onside as Jack Colback’s routine pass back into the area found Altidore, named in the starting lineup for a league game for the first time in more than a month.

The United States international turned in one fluid movement to beat Petr Cech inside the goalkeeper’s right-hand post with a powerful left-foot finish to finally get off the mark in the league following a £6.5 million move from the Dutch club AZ Alkmaar with his first goal in the Premier League

since scoring for Hull in a victory over Manchester City almost four years ago.

Chelsea were level within three minutes, Sunderland this time guilty of some lax defending as they failed to deal with Juan Mata’s corner, a poor clearance from Ki Sung Yueng finding its way to Hazard inside the area. The Belgian international easily found his way past Craig Gardner to tee up a perfect cross to the near post, where Frank Lampard, allowed a free run by Dossena, was left with the simple task of heading past Vito Mannone, registering his 208th goal for the club.

Chelsea didn’t have to wait much longer before completing a first-half comeback, taking the lead nine minutes before the interval. It came from Hazard, who picked up possession on the left, cut inside Bardsley and Gardner with minimum fuss and found the bottom corner with an angled drive from 18 yards. Fernando Torres should have stretched the lead, but delayed long enough to allow John O’Shea to intervene after the Spanish forward was put through on goal by Lampard’s perfectlyweighted through ball.

Rather than the second-half providing an immediate platform for Chelsea to build on their advantage, Sunderland were level within five minutes of the re-start thanks to more sub-standard defending from the visitors. Emmanuele Giaccherini’s low corner should have been easily dealt with, but somehow made its way through to O’Shea, allowing the defender to stab home the equaliser from six yards, despite the efforts of Terry to clear from the goal-line.

With Hazard excelling, it came as little surprise when he restored Chelsea’s lead with the pick of the evening’s goals shortly after the hour. Drifting in from the left, he made light of two would-be markers to accept a return pass back-heeled by Lampard to meet his run into the area. There was still plenty to do, but the former Lille player floated effortlessly past two more defenders to comprehensively beat Mannone with a powerful finish from 15 yards. In a frenetic finish, Bardsley then took centre stage at both ends, but Chelsea did just enough to merit a crucial victory. — AFP

Business

Record-breaking gas ship launched Page 22

QNB gets prestigious award from The Banker Magazine

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

Page 23 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum opens FIKR 12 Page 23 Page 26

India refuses to budge on subsidies at WTO meeting

BASEL: (From left to right) Members of a committee in charge of a campaign for a referendum Daniel Haeni, Pola Rapatt, Marilola Wili and Che Wagner pose with eight million coins of Swiss five-cent in a vault in Basel, inside a bank safe that will both go on sale on a luxury website. The 15 tons of coins were dumped by a truck last October in front of the Swiss house of Parliament in a symbolic gesture when the activists submitted over 130,000 signatures to organize a nationwide referendum guaranteeing all Swiss nationals a basic income of CHF 2,500 a month ($2,700). — AFP

Egypt owes $6bn to foreign oil firms Egypt needs Gulf aid, renewal of confidence in economy CAIRO: Egypt promised yesterday to pay $1.5 billion of the $6 billion it says it owes foreign oil companies, aiming to restore investor confidence in an economy damaged by nearly three years of political turmoil. Officials speaking at an investment conference pitched at Gulf Arab states and businessmen tried to allay concerns ranging from legal uncertainty to the foreign currency black market. “There is approval to pay $1.5 billion,” Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi told the gathering. He said the arrears had discouraged investment in the critical energy sector.

Gulf oil-producers rallied behind Egypt after the army ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July, pledging billions of dollar in financial support. Saudi Arabia and most other Gulf states deeply distrust Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood. Finance Minister Ahmed Galal told the conference the central bank would supply the dollars to reimburse the oil companies and Oil Minister Sherif Ismail said this would happen within days.

Financial disclosures by firms including BP, BG Group , Edison SpA and TransGlobe Energy show Egypt owed them more than $5.2 billion at the end of 2012. In the week after the army removed Mursi, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates promised Egypt a total of $12 billion in grants, interest-free loans and oil

products.

Egypt hopes Gulf investors will also inject cash.

Investment Minister Osama Saleh told Reuters he hoped for $4-5 billion in direct foreign investment in the year to end-June 2014. Government officials told the conference Egypt’s political roadmap to elections and restored stability was on track.

But there is no calm on the streets, where Mursi supporters are still protesting against what they call a military coup accompanied by human rights abuses. The government calls the Brotherhood a terrorist group that imperils national security. Gulf support has helped Egypt withstand Western criticism of its democratic credentials since the army takeover, which followed mass protests against Mursi’s year in power.

“How many fish?”

Asked if he anticipated more aid from Saudi Arabia, Finance Minister Galal told Reuters: “I cannot tell beforehand. You go fishing, how many fish are you going to catch?” Egypt badly needs private capital. Foreign direct investment fell to $3 billion in the 2012/13 financial year, which ended in June, compared with more than $10 billion a few years ago. Qatar, which backed Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood, is reluctant to invest in Egypt, but

the United Arab Emirates seems keen for its companies to launch or resume projects there.

A source close to big Abu Dhabi investment companies said nearly $5 billion had been committed in loans and investments in Egypt in the last four months and there was scope for more. Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, a $10 billion Kremlin initiative, said he was encouraged by the UAE’s presence at the conference. “We believe Egypt is becoming an attractive investment destination,” he told Reuters. UAE Minister of State Sultan Al-Jaber said sectors under discussion included agriculture, oil, gas and renewable energy, but called for the right legal framework to reassure investors.

The government is preparing a law to reinforce the legal standing of past contracts with the state, Mohamed Abazeid, an adviser to Egypt’s investment minister, told the conference. Egypt’s business climate has been clouded by court cases that have challenged past state contracts, including rulings ordering the renationalising of state businesses sold when ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak was in power.

The army-installed government, under pressure to produce a long-term plan to revive the economy, launched a 29.6 billion Egyptian pound ($4.3 billion)

stimulus package this year after Mursi’s overthrow brought aid pledges from Gulf countries. The economy grew a meagre 2.2 percent in the year to June 30, far too slow to make an impact on youth unemployment estimated at over 20 percent. Beblawi said the government aimed for economic growth of 3.5 percent in the current fiscal year.

Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris, whose family controls the Orascom corporate empire, told Reuters he would invest $1 billion in Egypt in the first quarter of 2014, mostly in construction, real estate, agriculture and microfinance. But it will take more than one heavy hitter to fix Egypt’s finances. The Egyptian pound is being propped up by central bank dollar sales, introduced a year ago to help counter a run on the currency as the plunge in foreign investment and tourism caused a sharp fall in foreign reserves.

Reserves, which stood at $36 billion before Mubarak fell, have been under pressure ever since. They totalled $18.59 billion at the end of October and Central Bank governor Hisham Ramez told the conference they had dipped slightly last month. He said the black market for the pound would “not last long”. Two market sources said yesterday the currency had weakened against the dollar because of importer demand. — Reuters

Vegas mall modeled on Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar LAS VEGAS: Las Vegas, where the only design rule seems to be that everything must mirror something else, is getting a new mall modeled on Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar.

Construction began this week on the Grand Bazaar Shops outside of Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.

The 2-acre outdoor mall is expected to open next fall on the corner of Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, in the heart of the Strip.

Developer Larry Siegel describes the project as a sanitized, glitzedout version of a traditional Middle Eastern market. “They’re really interesting places where people can gather, and it’s a real experience in terms of sights and sounds and smells. That’s what we’re trying to create here in a more sophisticated, modern way,” he said. The walking mall will feature a spice market, a butcher shop, and the first Swarovski store that will allow cus-

tomers to haggle over crystals.

Other hyper-specific themes rolled out on the Strip this year include an Eastern European glass factory-themed theater and a China-themed casino, which is expected to include a replica of the Great Wall of China and house live pandas. The Grand Bazaar Shops will consist of about 150 small retail spaces, 40 percent of which have already been leased. It will be competing with several other Strip malls, including the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, with about 160 stores, and the Miracle Mile Shops at the Planet Hollywood casino, with 170 stores.

The Bazaar team is not alone in betting on increased interest in Las Vegas retail. Last month, the Treasure Island hotel-casino announced it would end its free pirate show to make way for new shops, which are also expected to

open in the fall of 2014. Business has never been better at Strip malls, according to David Hoenemeyer, president of Bally’s, Paris and Planet Hollywood, all owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp.

“The customer these days is looking for more than the gaming experience,” he said. “The customer’s changed, and though gaming may be on their mind, it’s not always on the forefront.” It remains to be seen whether tourists will brave the 107 degree heat common in the Las Vegas summer to shop at stores they could find at indoor malls a few casinos over. Hoenemeyer insists that misters will make up the difference, and says in any case, it’s dry heat.

Las Vegas is increasingly looking to beat its reputation as a shut-in.

MGM Resorts International is spending $100 million to build a park outside of its New York-New York and

LAS VEGAS: This artist’s rendition shows Grand Bazaar Shops, a new Las Vegas mall. — AP

Monte Carlo casinos. Caesars is planning its own outdoor shopping and dining “district” on the Strip.

That project, Linq, is anchored by a 550-foot-tall observation wheel slated to open in 2014.

The Shops will feature brightlycolored tile roofs, designed as shade structures, and also as advertisements built for a town where the

main customers see things from above, in their skyscraper hotel rooms. Each night, a 4,000 pound crystal ball outside the Swarovski store will put on a lightshow.

The new mall is expected to cost $50 million, about half of a lavish Strip nightclub. Casino executives hope it will draw gamblers to Bally’s, which just went through a

$32 million renovation. Bally’s is set back from the street, and has always struggled with foot traffic. If the concept works, Siegel, who’s developed malls in Canada and Spain, says he plans to open Grand Bazaars in other cities. “I think people will come from all over Las Vegas and beyond to experience this,” he said. — AP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Record-breaking gas ship launched Floating LNG could change gas industry economics LONDON: It will be the biggest thing ever sent to sea - but as the Prelude FLNG vessel was launched on Tuesday, plans were already under way for something bigger. With a bow and stern half a kilometre apart, four football pitches would fit on Prelude’s deck were it not for a clutter of kit towering up to 93 metres high that will draw gas from under the sea bed for dispatch to Asia by the boatload.

Now, as the partly-built structure floats out of dry dock for the first time, developer Royal Dutch Shell wants to consolidate its advantage as the first mover in Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) - an as-yet untried technology for which Prelude will be the flagship. The oil company’s technicians are designing something even larger and tougher than Prelude, a vessel that will need to last 25 years moored in the Indian Ocean’s “cyclone alley” off Australia’s northwest coast, producing enough gas to supply a city the size of Hong Kong.

“Yes we will move bigger and move into more extreme environments,” Bruce Steenson, Shell’s general manager of integrated gas programmes and innovation told Reuters last week.

“We are designing a larger facility ... That will be the next car off the rails.” Prelude, which analysts says may cost over $12 billion to build and which is due to be producing by 2017, is a potential game changer for the oil and gas industry.

If it is an economic success, gas fields worldwide that are too far out to sea and too small to develop any other way could become viable for LNG production. Making the first-ever FLNG unit even more of a focus as it takes shape in Samsung Heavy Industries’ Geoje shipyard in South Korea, the prototype vessel’s most likely first copy model of similar size will now be for the Browse project another venture for gas off Australia.

“Design one, build many” Escalating costs forced backers to dump their original, land-based LNG plant plans, and in September this year, they decided to go ahead with Shell’s FLNG technology instead. “The Browse structure will be 90 percent the same as Prelude,” Steenson told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference, citing the “design one, build many” mantra Shell hopes will eventually pay off and placate shareholders worried about the firm’s total $45 billion-a-year capital spending bill.

Browse’s developer, Woodside Petroleum, said in October it may use as many as three of the FLNG vessels Shell is developing along with Samsung Heavy and oil and gas engineers Technip. An even bigger FLNG plant than the ones to be built for Prelude and Browse could make life more interesting for the competition - a wide range of land-based “wannabe” LNG exporters in Canada, Russia and east Africa, all hoping to tap burgeoning Asian gas demand the same way a number of Australian and U.S-based LNG developments will over the coming few years.

Anchored about 200 km (125 miles) off the Australian coast, Prelude will chill the gas to reduce its volume by a factor of 600 and load it on to specialised LNG tankers. Prelude will only produce about 3.6 million tonnes a year (mtpa) of LNG along with its 5.3 mtpa of liquids and other hydrocarbons - a fraction of some land-based LNG plants.

Steenson envisages a bigger version could produce far more - giving it economies of scale closer to those to be enjoyed by bigger landbased producing plants such as Gorgon, a 15.6 mtpa plant taking shape on northwest Australia’s coast to tap offshore gas. Gorgon, led by Shell’s U.S.-based rival Chevron, should be producing in early 2015, well ahead of Prelude, but it is way

over budget and now scheduled to cost $52 billion against an original $37 billion. Plans for a land-based Browse plant were cancelled this year as its likely cost reached $45 billion, and as the outlook for global gas demand faltered.

Ocean access Shell has shied away from offering estimates of Prelude’s likely cost, but analysts say FLNG could end up less expensive. They have put the cost of Prelude at $10.8-$12.6 billion. At 600,000 tonnes with its storage tanks full, Prelude will be vast, but it takes up just a quarter of the space a land-based LNG plant of a similar capacity would occupy because components are stacked on top of each other.

LNG plants need access to the ocean anyway so that LNG tankers can load. FLNG eliminates the need for land purchase and reduces environmental objections. With cooling water straight from the ocean and gas tipped piped straight into LNG tankers, there is no need for long seabed pipelines and jetty construction. Shell’s earliest FLNG designs were made in the 1990s but ended up shelved because of economic recession and technical difficulties. Shell started looking again at the idea in the early 2000s, but it was the discovery of the Prelude field in 2007 - too small and too remote to develop any other way - that gave the technology its first shot in the real world.

A final investment decision was taken to go ahead with 488-metre long Prelude in 2011. Its keel was laid in May this year and two giant sections of its hull built on opposite sides of the harbour were joined together in the summer at Geoje Island. As was the case with the pioneering design, the bigger FLNG vessel design awaits a suitable gas discovery to match it, Steenson said at the London Business School’s annual global energy summit. —Reuters

Britain’s service sector grows again LONDON: Growth in Britain’s service sector slowed a little last month, a survey showed yesterday, breaking a run of positive data surprises but still providing a strong backdrop for the government’s budget update later this week. Financial data company Markit said its UK services purchasing managers’ index eased to 60.0 in November from a 16-year high of 62.5 in October.

That was two points below the median forecast in a Reuters poll and a lower reading than any of the 24 analysts surveyed had predicted. But it was still one of the highest readings over the past seven years. “A correction appeared to be likely given the excessive jump in October,” said Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank. “The service sector may have lost a little bit of momentum but 60 is still a decent number. The economy still has momentum.”

Sterling weakened to $1.6326 after the PMI data, from $1.6355 beforehand. While the services data fell short of expectations, the strength of manufacturing and

ing given expected updates to growth and a downgrade of the public borrowing figures for the next few years,” said Shaw.

“Osborne is likely to say that the outlook looks better and government economic policies are working, but much work is still to be done.”

The unexpectedly strong economic rebound since his March budget may give Osborne scope to address rising living costs - a political flashpoint ahead of a national election in May 2015. But he is likely to stick to his austerity programme, the merit of which he believes is becoming increasingly apparent.

A laggard among the world’s industrialised nations until this year, Britain now has one of the fastest-growing economies with an annualised growth rate of more than 3 percent. Dixon at Commerzbank expects the government’s Office for Budget Responsibility to raise its economic growth forecast for 2014 on Thursday to around 2.5 percent, from 1.8 percent. But there remain some headwinds to the recovery.

construction surveys released earlier this week means Britain remains on track to register an acceleration in economic growth in the fourth quarter.

“Even though the currency sold off (on the services data), the figures still show the economy was going great guns in the fourth quarter,” said Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec. “If you had suggested a PMI reading of 60 at the beginning of the year you’d have had your arm bitten off.” Taking the indices for services, manufacturing and construction together, Markit predicts UK GDP growth will accelerate to more than 1.0 percent in the final three months of the year, from 0.8 percent quarter on quarter in the third quarter.

Budget update Finance minister George Osborne is expected to announce the biggest upgrade to official growth forecasts in a decade on Thursday when he makes a twiceyearly budget statement to parliament. “The statement will be the first that (he) has enjoyed deliver-

Wages are rising more slowly than inflation, the household sector is heavily indebted and firms remain reluctant to invest.

There are also signs that price pressures are starting to build something that may worry the Bank of England which has pledged to keep interest rates at a record low until the recovery is assured. Input-cost inflation hit a nine-month high and output prices rose at their fastest pace since May 2011. The employment component of yesterday’s services sector survey slipped to 54.2 from 56.2, but the new business index remained close to October’s series high, offering hope that growth might pick up again in the coming months.

“Although signalling an easing in the rate of growth in November, the survey of the services economy continues to signal an impressively strong rate of expansion,” said Markit’s chief economist Chris Williamson. The composite index gauging activity in both the manufacturing and services sectors slipped to 60.5 from October’s record high of 61.6. —Reuters

FRANKFURT: In this file photo, the headquarters of Deutsche Bank are pictured in Frankfurt. —AP

EU slaps record fines on banks for latest abuses BRUSSELS: The European Union imposed a record 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in fines on six institutions yesterday for rigging key interest rates that affect vast sums of money around the world. The sanction comes after several other massive penalties imposed on the world’s biggest banks over the malpractices which have besmirched the reputation of the sector.

After boom years on Wall Street and in London, the financial crisis of 2008 has exposed various abuses by banks, including the reporting of false interest rates or the hiding of junk home loans in derivatives sold as high-quality assets.

Yesterday, the European Union dredged out one more malpractice by the institutions, with German Deutsche Bank fined a total of 725 million euros for involvement in cartel rigging of both the European Euribor and Japanese Tibor rates. French Societe Generale was fined 446 million euros for manipulating the European Euribor rate while British bank RBS, already mired in controversy, was fined 391 million euros for involvement in cartels which rigged both rates.

The European Commission’s anti-trust authorities had never previously imposed such big fines overall, Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told a press conference. “What is shocking is not only the manipulation of benchmark but (the) cartel,” said Almunia, adding that the ruling was

meant to both “punish and dissuade”. With further investigations ongoing, he warned that it is “not the end of the story”.

In total, four financial institutions were involved in a cartel which rigged the Euribor rate and six in a cartel which manipulated the Tibor rate. In the Euribor case, British bank Barclays benefited from immunity and will not pay a fine because it revealed the existence of the rigging to the Commission.

Deutsche Bank was however fined 466 million euros, and Societe Generale and RBS were fined 131 million euros in the Euribor case.

Investigations are continuing concerning French bank Credit Agricole, HSBC of Britain and US bank JPMorgan. In the Tibor case, Swiss bank UBS avoided a fine because it admitted the car tel misdoing to the Commission.

Deutsche Bank was fined 259 million euros, RBS 260 million euros, JPMorgan 80 million euros, US bank Citigroup 70 million euros and British broker RP Martin 247,000 euros in that case. The investigations and fines come after a separate scandal broke over the rigging of the London Libor rate, which is the benchmark rate that underpins the terms of $500 trillion of contracts ranging from mortgages to student loans around the world.

The Euribor, Tibor and Libor interest rates are calculated slightly differently but fulfil a vital function as a reference for the rates which banks are charging to lend each other. —AFP

Saudi Q3 economic growth picks up RIYADH/DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.1 percent in the third quarter, only half as fast as it grew a year ago, according to data released yesterday. The annual inflation-adjusted growth rate slowed to 2.1 percent during the first quarter in Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil producer. The growth rate rose to 2.7 percent in the second quarter, according to the Central Statistics Office, and continued to rise as output increased in the third quarter.

“Oil is the one pushing the headline numbers, but there is an evident moderation in the non-oil sector,” said John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at Masic, a Saudi investment company.

The $711 billion Saudi economy, which has been pegging its currency, the riyal, to the US dollar for decades, grew 5.7 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2012 and 5.1 percent in all of last year.

Quarter-on-quarter, Saudi real GDP grew 1.1 percent in July-September 2013, reversing the same decline in the previous quarter, according to a Reuters calculation based on the official data.

Performance of the top Arab economy is closely

linked to energy prices, crude oil output and government spending, which has been growing strongly in the past years, partly to address social tensions stemming from unrest in the Middle East.

Growth in the oil sector, which accounts for nearly half of the economy, was 3.1 percent yearon-year in July-September, after a 3.7 percent drop in the second quarter. However, growth in the Saudi non-oil private sector eased to 3.3 percent in the third quarter from 4.2 percent in AprilJune and 4.3 percent a year earlier.

“The figures reflect the high level of spending in 2012. There was also a degree of disruption caused by labour market policies in the third quarter of this year,” said Paul Gamble, director, sovereign group at Fitch Ratings in London.

Around a million foreign workers have left Saudi Arabia this year after a crackdown on visa irregularities, which accompanied labour reforms aimed at putting more Saudi nationals into jobs held by expatriates. Today’s data showed a slowdown in some sectors that depend on cheap imported labour, Sfakianakis said.—Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal Irani Riyal Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.765 4.544 2.614 2.164 2.846 226.840 36.575 3.644 6.485 8.824 62.000 120.000 GCC COUNTRIES 75.644 77.941 736.880 753.420 77.251

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 40.700 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.717 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.323 Tunisian Dinar 171.170 Jordanian Dinar 400.580 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.903 Syrian Lira 3.082 Morocco Dirham 35.444 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 283.550 Euro 386.620 Sterling Pound 466.160 Canadian dollar 267.250 Turkish lira 139.100 Swiss Franc 314.460 Australian Dollar 258.030 US Dollar Buying 282.350 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

GOLD 231.000 118.000 62.000

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

SELL DRAFT 263.06 270.20 316.41 387.43 282.85 468.29 2.82 3.638 4.549 2.158 2.859 2.610 77.08 752.83 41.05 402.56 735.59 78.11 75.56

SELL CASH 262.000 270.000 316.000 389.000 285.600 471.000 2.800 3.800 4.860 2.600 3.400 2.760 77.400 753.7000 41.100 407.600 741.700 78.500 75.800

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat

Selling Rate 283.300 270.080 464.370 386.675 312.970 748.050 77.110 78.660 76.415 399.355 41.075 2.157 4.535 2.609 3.639 6.466 695.840 3.765 09.810

Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit Chinese Yuan Renminbi

3.025 3.820 88.435 46.920

Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

0.222919 0.021515 0.001897 0.009462 0.008538

0.228919 0.030015 0.002477 0.009642 0.009088

Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar Turkish Lira UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

Arab 0.745666 0.037744 0.000078 0.000186 0.395714 1.0000000 0.000139 0.022706 0.001201 0.730462 0.077174 0.074977 0.002173 0.166424 0.138572 0.076218 0.001288

0.753666 0.040844 0.000080 0.000246 0.403214 1.0000000 0.000239 0.046706 0.001836 0.736142 0.078387 0.075677 0.002393 0.174424 0.145572 0.077367 0.001368

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY Belgian Franc British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Romanian Leu Slovakia Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Turkish Lira

SELL CASH Europe 0.007371 0.458440 0.006655 0.047615 0.380242 0.042445 0.081818 0.008131 0.039515 0.307234 0.138572

SELLDRAFT 0.008371 0.467440 0.018655 0.052615 0.387742 0.047645 0.81818 0.018131 0.044515 0.317434 0.145572

Australasia 0.249111 0.226361

0.260611 0.235861

Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint

America 0.261463 0.279450 0.279950

0.269963 0.283800 0.283800

Bangladesh Taka Chinese Yuan Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Korean Won Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso Sierra Leone

Asia 0.003304 0.045175 0.034485 0.004339 0.000020 0.002685 0.003350 0.000257 0.084668 0.002981 0.002457 0.006405 0.000069

0.003904 0.048675 0.037235 0.004740 0.000026 0.002865 0.003350 0.000272 0.090668 0.003151 0.002737 0.006685 0.000075

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 283.250 386.250 465.700 268.450 4.553 41.050 2.162 3.644 6.470 2.611 754.300 77.100 75.600

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

India refuses to budge on subsidies at WTO meeting Farm dispute imperils WTO vision to free up trade

ATHENS: This picture shows houses surrounding the acropolis hill. —AFP

Home grabs a high-risk mission for fragile Greek government ATHENS: Rising poverty, pressure from creditors and a looming parliamentary revolt: Greece’s government has its work cut out as it ponders whether to broaden home foreclosures to thin the ranks of evasive debtors. A law passed in 2010 currently protects the principal residence of debtors from outright seizure, providing a cushion of support in a country stuck in a six-year recession and four years of austerity cutbacks. But according to Greece’s creditors-the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank-the measure has been systematically abused.

“The moratorium on seizures has brought about an important increase in strategic bankruptcies, meaning people who stopped repaying their loans even though they had the means to do so,” Poul Thomsen, head of the IMF’s audit mission to Greece, told Kathimerini daily in a recent interview. The protective measure is set to lapse in January, and has become a major sticking point in negotiations between the so-called troika of creditors and the government in return for loans under from the Greek bailout agreement.

According to Kathimerini, the ban reduced home auctions by 50 percent between 2009 and 2012, and removing it could see 110,000 homes seized and sold.

“Changing the rules on home seizures would mark the beginning of a political, economic and social rupture,” said Louka Katseli, the former finance minister who promoted the law in question. One prominent magistrate has warned that ending the moratorium on foreclosures would cause “a second Asia Minor disaster”, referring to the traumatic conclusion of the Greek-Turkish war of 1919-1922 that saw the elimination of Anatolia’s ethnic Greek minority through killings and exile.

Seeking a compromise Facing an internal revolt on the issue from its own lawmakers, the coalition government of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is seeking a compromise that will satisfy everyone. “The weak will be protected, poor and middle-class households will be protected,” government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou told Antenna television on Tuesday.

“We are trying to locate freeloaders, and protect those who truly can’t meet their obligations owing to the crisis,” he said. The European Commission this week also stressed that it was merely seeking to “rework” the ban to eliminate “systematic abuse brought about by the general moratorium.” For Nikos Magginas, an economist at the National Bank of Greece, the problem lies in Greece’s notoriously cumbersome justice system that can take up to five years to resolve litigation.

In the case of claimants seeking protection from their creditors, “debt repayment is frozen for as long as it takes to reach a verdict,” he noted. Greek banks estimate non-performing loans at 29 percent of total loans, of which a large share are mortgages. In comparison, Spain-where home seizures are more frequent-has a non-performing loan rate of 12.12 percent.

Greece’s so-called troika of creditors argue that the ban needs to be re-examined to prevent endangering the banks, which were only recently recapitalised after helping a major operation to reduce the country’s state debt last year. But a sharp increase in home auctions would be catastrophic for property prices in Greece, which are already down 30 percent from 2010 figures owing to the recession. The government and the troika are expected to reach a deal before the moratorium expires at the beginning of January.

But with a majority of just four MPs in parliament, the government risks being ripped apart over the issue as several conservatives have warned they would rebel against any deal that guts the moratorium.

And critics warn that even if the government manages to extract an exception for poor households, defining poverty in a country where incomes have fallen so dramatically is next to impossible.

Consumer associations note that with taxes steadily increasing in the past three years, even people with nominally high salaries have trouble making ends meet.

According to state statistics dating from 2011, 23.1 percent of Greeks are exposed to poverty. Conditions have since deteriorated further, placing Greece at the head of European rankings in this category. —AFP

Spain’s bankruptcy slays giants, dwarfs MADRID: Washing machines, fish fingers and football teams: not even household names are safe from a Spanish bankruptcy epidemic ravaging big and small businesses alike. The number of companies filing for bankruptcy in Spain rose from 1,147 in 2007, the year before Spain’s real estate bubble disastrously burst, to nearly 6,200 in 2009, according to the National Statistics Institute. It topped 9,000 in 2012 and “I think that in 2013 we are going to get close to 10,000,” said Carlos Sancho, a lawyer and expert in financial management at IESE Business School.

One big name after another has succumbed in recent months. Real estate developer Reyal Urbis went under in February, sunk by 3.6 billion euros ($4.9 billion) of debt. The giant frozen fish maker Pescanova, which employs 10,000 people, followed in April. In November it was the turn of Fagor, one of Europe’s biggest maker of household appliances such as washing machines.

The bankruptcy reaper has also come knocking on the door of more glamorous businesses, such as Deportivo A Coruna league football club and the organiser of the Miss Spain beauty contest. About a third of recent bankruptcies have affected real estate firms-the sector whose collapse in 2008 triggered Spain’s financial crisis and double recession, driving unemployment up to nearly 26 percent currently.

Brokerage Axesor is forecasting an increase of about 25 percent in bankruptcies in 2013 and a slight easing in 2014, said Javier Ramos, its research director.

The companies formally filing for bankruptcy reflect only a part of the toll from the crisis, however. “In Spain the rate of bankruptcies is still very low,” accounting for just a quarter of all business shutdowns in January to September this year, Ramos said.

Spanish industry is largely composed of small companies, which “are very afraid of filing for bankruptcy”, said Celia Ferrero, vice-chairwoman of the small business

federation ATA. “What the small businessman normally does is close down the business directly,” settling its affairs without applying for court supervision in a formal bankruptcy procedure, she said.

Although a bankruptcy procedure, in which a judge regulates negotiations with debtors, offers hope that a company may be saved, in practice fewer than one in 10 firms that make the filing in Spain avoid being liquidated.

“We all rather have the feeling that if a company files for bankruptcy protection, it is clearly not going to be able to carry on,” said Sancho. He said bankruptcy laws should be reformed to “hold out an umbrella to the businessman so he can weather the storm”.

Spain’s official economic figures show that it technically emerged from recession in the third quarter of this year, with timid growth of 0.1 percent. But “we are now seeing the judicial consequences of the crisis,” said Sancho. After the crisis erupted in 2008, many companies took out more loans to try and keep them afloat, which are now due for repayment.

Spanish banks-who themselves had to tap 41 billion euros ($56 billion) from a eurozone rescue fund last year-are less willing than before to extend new ones. “I think that if we could hold on a little longer, if credit started to flow again, then a lot of the companies that are on the verge of shutting down could survive until the economy gets a bit better,” said Ferrero.

Some of the public authorities contracting services delay their monthly payments for up to five months, worsening the difficulties of small businesses, she said. “One in four small businesses has had to close precisely because of this defaulting by public administrations,” Ferrero said. “Nearly half a million small businesses have disappeared during the crisis.”

Enrique Bujidos, a restructuring specialist with consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, forecast: “2013 is going to be the year with the most bankruptcy filings in Spain’s history, without any doubt.” —AFP

NUSA DUA: India yesterday rejected a proposed World Trade Organisation package, casting a cloud over a highstakes conference trying to revive faltering efforts to liberalise global commerce. Commerce ministers from WTO members are meeting on the Indonesian resort island of Bali in hopes that agreement on the modest package could sustain the WTO’s stumbling 12-year-old drive to slash trade barriers. But New Delhi fears the accord could endanger its efforts to support farmers and subsidise food in the huge nation.

Its position is believed to be supported by many other developing countries who fear opening their agricultural markets. “Yes, we have rejected it,” commerce minister Anand Sharma told reporters, shortly after telling the 159-member WTO that the matter is “non-negotiable.”

Delegates warned that failure to reach even a limited accord during the four-day Bali talks could spell doom for the WTO’s “Doha Round” of talks on slashing global barriers to commerce.

‘Debilitating blow’ for WTO “Leaving Bali this week without an agreement would deal a debilitating blow to the WTO as a forum for multilateral negotiations,” said US Trade Representative Michael Froman. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht told reporters the situation in Bali had put him in a “sombre mood.” The talks are set to end tomorrow. The WTO launched the Doha Round in Qatar in 2001 to pur-

sue its vision of an open trading environment fair to both rich and poor countries. It would seek to overhaul commerce by setting a global framework of rules. But pro-

New WTO chief Roberto Azevedo of Brazil has warned such arrangements cannot protect the interests of the world’s poorest countries-a key WTO objective. Chances for suc-

NUSA DUA: India’s Minister for Commerce and Investment Shri Anand Sharma (center) delivers his speech during the plenary session of the 9th WTO Ministerial Meeting yesterday. —AFP tectionist disputes between rich and poor countries, and the WTO’s insistence that an accord be unanimous, have made progress frustratingly elusive. Meanwhile, alternative regional pacts between major trading nations including the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership pushed by Washington have emerged, threatening the WTO with obsolescence.

cess in Bali have increasingly centred on India’s position on food security.

India passed a landmark National Food Security Act in August that will expand the buying of grain from farmers at subsidised rates, and sell it to consumers at prices reduced even further. Facing tough elections next year, it fears a WTO requirement lim-

iting subsidies to no more than 10 percent of agricultural production could threaten its efforts to provide cheap food for its hundreds of millions of poor.

Storm clouds over Bali The Bali package would exempt India from challenges to its subsidies for four years, but New Delhi wants a blanket exemption until a permanent solution is negotiated. That is expected to be opposed by others including the United States. Azevedo has cited estimates that the Doha Round could create tens of millions of jobs and perhaps $1 trillion in new economic activity.

Pulling back from the Doha Round’s lofty goals, the “Bali package” being considered this week focuses on a handful of specific issues including agriculture, simplifying customs procedures and measures to help least-developed countries. Azevedo has said a modest deal in those areas could keep Doha on life-support for a later push.

“Right now I fear the opposite is true. The storm clouds of failure are right on us. Ladies and gentlemen, this is crunch time for the WTO,” said De Gucht. Ministers, however, stressed that hope for an eleventhhour deal in Bali still flickered and delegation sources indicated diplomacy was gearing up behind closed doors. Azevedo, who took over in September, declined to address the Indian minister’s statement. “Right now, no comments on anything. We are working,” he said. —AFP

QNB gets prestigious award from The Banker Magazine The Best Bank in The Middle East Award DOHA: QNB Group, the world’s strongest bank, has secured the prestigious ‘Bank of the YearMiddle East’ Regional Award from The Banker Magazine at their Annual Gala Awards Dinner held at The InterContinental Hotel in London.

The achievement marks another impressive year of growth and expansion for the QNB Group underpinned by a robust financial performance. QNB Group recorded a net profit of QR7.1 billion ($1.952 billion) in the nine months ended 30 September 2013, up by 14.1 percent compared to the same period in 2012, demonstrating QNB’s ability to generate strong revenue growth across a diverse range of business income streams. Total assets increased by 24.5 percent since September 30, 2012 to reach QR437 billion, the highest ever achieved by the Group.

In addition, The Group has continued to implement its international expansion strategy of the past 5 years and now operates in 26 countries around the world through its network, subsidiaries and associate companies. It employs approximately 13,500 staff across a geographical footprint of 570 locations and has an ATM network that exceeds 1,200 machines.

As in previous years, the 2013 The Banker Awards set the industry standard for banking excellence. Competition amongst the world’s leading financial institutions was intense and

judging criteria was based on a company’s ability to deliver enhanced shareholder returns through the delivery of sound and progressive strategic planning. QNB’s performance in providing a quality service to clients and customers, both in domestic and international markets, was singled out for special mention.

The Banker Magazine is a leading international publication with a wealth of financial knowledge and expertise. It is a key source of data and analysis for the Banking industry worldwide and its Annual Gala Awards Dinner is recognized as being one of the key events in the Financial Services Industry Calendar Year.

Euro-zone divergence deepens LONDON: Global growth was modest and a tepid expansion in the euro-zone masked a growing disparity among its key members last month, data showed yesterday. A buoyant Germany was not enough to stop the 17-nation euro-zone’s private sector losing momentum in November, dragged backwards by a downturn in France - the bloc’s second biggest economy - and a continued recession in Italy. Britain, which does not use the euro, broke a run of upside data surprises but still provided a strong economic backdrop for a twice-yearly government budget update due later this week. Still, the data from across Europe echoed an earlier Chinese survey that pointed to steady growth in November.

Figures due at 1500 GMT are expected to show continued expansion among services firms in the United States. “It’s steady as she goes, but that’s not a bad thing. We can look forward to 2014 with a lot more optimism than at any time in the past several years because many of the shoes that we were waiting to drop haven’t,” said Peter Dixon at Commerzbank. “It could be better but it could be a lot worse.”

Markit’s November Euro-zone Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which monitors activity at thousands of firms across both the services and manufacturing industries, slipped to 51.7 from 51.9 in October.

That did, however, mark an improve-

ment on an initial estimate of 51.5 and was the fifth straight month above the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction. Britain’s services PMI fell to a still very strong 60.0, its fifth highest reading since December 2006 - and all of the better ones have been since June this year.

In a further indication of strength, China’s HSBC/Markit services PMI stood little changed at 52.5 in November, although a moderation of new business and prices-charged growth suggests the underlying momentum has started to soften. Beijing has embarked on a sweeping restructuring drive and world’s second biggest economy has regained some momentum since mid-year after a protracted slowdown.

Canada sponsors 20th World Islamic Banking Conference MANAMA: The Government of Canada will be sponsoring the 20th World Islamic Banking Conference ( WIBC) taking place in Manama, Bahrain, from December 3-5, 2013. This will mark Canada’s firstever panel presentation to this premiere event. The panel took place yesterday at 10:00 am, and focus on Islamic finance developments and opportunities in Canada. It will feature Canada’s Ambassador to Bahrain, Tom MacDonald, as well as Janet Ecker, President and CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA), a public/private initiative whose mandate is to enhance and promote the long-term competitiveness of Toronto as a top ten global financial services centre.

“Canada is proud to take part in the 20th Anniversary of this important conference, which is the world’s largest annual gathering of Islamic finance industry leaders. Our commercial ties with the Muslim world are growing fast, especially in the

GCC and ASEAN regions, which are the cradle of Islamic finance” said Ambassador MacDonald.

“Canada has the potential to become a hub for Sharia-compliant banking and finance in North America”.

Canada is a world leader in risk management, effective regulation and supervision in the financial industry. This is why it has been named by the World Economic Forum as having the soundest banking sector in the world for six consecutive years. “Toronto - Canada’s financial capital - is one of the most diverse cities in the world and we welcome the growing ties between Toronto and the Islamic banking community” said Ecker. “With a sound economy, stable political environment and a wealth of physical assets, we offer many opportunities for Islamic investors. The World Islamic Banking Conference is an ideal opportunity to explore our common interests and build on our shared values.”

Any positive news will reinforce the government’s hand as it pushes ahead with an ambitious agenda of reshaping the economy to boost domestic consumption at the expense of the traditional drivers of exports and investment.

Two-speed Europe The euro zone as a whole escaped from its longest recession earlier this year, supported by stronger-than-expected growth in Germany. But a Reuters poll last month said it would grow a paltry 0.2 percent this quarter. Markit said its latest data pointed to the same rate of growth but warned that France’s PMI raised the possibility the country would slide back into recession. The Italy PMI suggested its downturn would extend into a 10th quarter.

For Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, the story was different. The composite index jumped to a 29-month high as firms took on more staff to meet the orders flooding in. Spain’s service PMI bounced back comfortably above 50.

“The German economy proves to be again - the main engine of growth for the euro zone economy. The massive divergences between the main euro zone economies remains discouraging,” said Annalisa Piazza at Newedge Strategy.

The growing divergence will complicate the debate at the European Central Bank when it meets to set policy on Thursday. Last month it unexpectedly cut its key interest rate to a record low of 0.25 percent after inflation fell close to a four-year low of 0.7 percent in October. While inflation picked up slightly last month, it is still well below the ECB’s below-but-closeto 2 percent target ceiling and the PMI data showed firms are still cutting prices to drum up business. —Reuters

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Russian banks exposed in Ukraine crisis Central bank, low on reserves, urges calm VIENNA/MOSCOW: The political crisis in Ukraine, sparked by an East-West power struggle in which Moscow has gained the upper hand, is increasing the risk to the country’s financial system and creating a particularly acute headache for Russian banks. As crowds took to the streets to protest after President Viktor Yanukovich rejected a trade and cooperation deal with the European Union last week in favour of closer ties with Russia, its rattled central bank, low on reserves, appealed to people not to pull their deposits from the banks.

Ukraine seems to have little immediate prospect of additional financial help to meet its big external deficits and financing needs, making it even less attractive to the foreign banks that flocked there before the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered the worst of the global financial crisis.

While other foreign lenders have cut their Ukraine exposure in the five years since - to 20 percent of Ukraine banking sector assets in 2012 from 40 percent in 2008, according to a Raiffeisen Research survey - Russian banks have maintained a strong market presence, still accounting for 12 percent.

Among foreign banks, the Russians have easily the biggest exposure, more than twice that of Austrian lenders, the next

biggest. In a credit outlook note this week, ratings agency Moody’s cited Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying Ukrainian borrowers owed around $28 billion to four Russian banks and named Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank (VEB), Sberbank and Bank VTB as creditors. “We estimate that these banks’ exposure to Ukrainian risk is $20-$30 billion, a sizeable amount indeed, considering that their combined Tier 1 capital was $105 billion in June,” Moody’s said. Moody’s, which estimated that 35 percent of all bank loans in Ukraine were problem loans, said the country’s severe economic problems would keep local borrowers under pressure and could result in higher loan losses for the Russian lenders.

In the absence of the association agreement with the European Union, Russian-Ukrainian trade is likely to rise, and the four big Russian banks may well increase their exposure to Ukraine, it added. Ekaterina Trofimova, a Gazprombank board member, played down the concerns.

“Gazprombank is the least exposed to Ukrainian risk among major Russian banks. Gazprombank has no subsidiary in Ukraine. Gazprombank does not lend locally (and) has no retail lending in Ukraine. All credit exposure is contract-based

secured lending,” she said. Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, declined to detail its exposure to Ukraine when it announced third-quarter results last week. VTB declined to comment and VEB was not immediately available to comment.

EYEING THE EXIT Foreign banks have $28.2 billion in cross-border claims and local loans in foreign currency, according to the Bank for International Settlements, whose figures cover 31 countries excluding Russia. Gianni Franco Papa, head of Italian bank UniCredit’s market-leading central and eastern European business, said the bank was not being put off by the drama playing out on Kiev’s streets. The country has handled crises in the past. “Whether they are able to cope this time or not we will know in a few days.”

An executive at Greece’s Piraeus Bank, whose Ukraine unit has 60 branches, said: “There is no panic and no deposit outflows. Ukrainians are used to political crises. But what does happen - with us and at other banks, too - is that there is increased interest to buy foreign currency, mainly US dollars.” Some European banks have already

pulled out of Ukraine, since 2008, including Commerzbank, Erste Bank and Swedbank. Emerging Europe’s secondbiggest lender Raiffeisen Bank International has said it would not rule out an exit from Ukraine as it sharpens its focus.

Dimitry Sologoub, head of research at Raiffeisen in Kiev, said the banks had learned lessons from the 2008 crisis, so were much less exposed to credit risk, liquidity risk and forex risk, and the central bank was calming matters by providing liquidity and foreign exchange. “The question is how long it will go? The reserve cushion of the national bank is not so big.” In the meantime, Ukraine might secure short-term benefits from its closer ties with Russia, enough perhaps to stave off the kind of currency crisis that nearby Belarus suffered in 2011, said Charles Robertson, chief global economist at Renaissance Capital in London. “In the long run, it will probably keep Ukraine poor. This is bad for Ukrainians and bad for Russia,” he added. “Instead of being a strong, successful economy on Russia’s borders, able to buy plenty of Russian exports, Ukraine risks becoming another Belarus.” — Reuters

Expiring jobless benefits to lower US unemployment rate WASHINGTON: The US unemployment rate could fall substantially early next year as belt-tightening in Washington throws more than a million long-term unemployed Americans off the benefit rolls. The loss of benefits could spur former recipients to either drop out of the labor force or accept jobs they previously would not have considered. Some economists estimate this could lower the current unemployment rate of 7.3 percent by as much as half a percentage point.

“The lapsing of the program could lower the unemployment rate by perhaps 0.25-0.50 percentage point, with much of the effect coming through reduced labor force participation, rather than increased employment,” said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. To receive jobless benefits, Americans are required to be actively looking for work. That is also a key factor that defines who is unemployed, as opposed to those who have dropped out of the labor force.

Emergency jobless benefits for 1.3 million long-term unemployed people are set to run out on Jan 1 unless the U.S. Congress agrees on an extension. The National Employment Law Project, a New York-based advocacy group, estimates that about 850,000 people will run out of state unemployment benefits in the first quarter of 2014, with no access to emergency benefits if lawmakers do not act.

The emergency unemployment compensation program was introduced in 2008 during the depths of recession, and has been extended every year since then. It has paid out more than $225 billion to cushion the long-term unemployed as the economy struggled to heal from the recession. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday extending the program for another year would increase employment by 200,000 by the end of the fourth quarter of 2014 and add 0.2 percentage point to gross domestic product.

The CBO was responding to a letter from a Democrat lawmaker, Chris Van Hollen, asking for an assessment of the program’s impact on the economy. The CBO also noted that extending the program would increase the federal government debt. President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats want to include an extension of the program in any budget deal hammered out by a bipartisan panel. A negotiating panel has been given a

Dec 13 deadline to reach a deal to fund the government. With little time left, and given opposition to an extension among some Republicans, analysts say it appears likely the emergency benefits will expire as scheduled on Jan 1.

Headache for FED The US jobless rate has dropped 2.7 percentage points from a peak of 10 percent in October 2009, though some of the decline has been due to Americans giving up the search for work. Goldman Sachs expects an expiration of emergency benefits would reduce the jobless rate by between 0.1 and 0.2 percentage point in early 2014. “If, hypothetically, all workers receiving emergency unemployment benefits dropped out of the labor force once benefits expired, this would result in a 0.8 percentage point decline in the unemployment rate,” said Alec Phillips, an economist at Goldman Sachs in Washington.

“If all of these workers became employed, the resulting unemployment rate would be only slightly lower.

However ... we would expect the actual effect on the unemployment rate to be significantly less dramatic than either of these hypotheticals.” Should the unemployment rate drop because former recipients of jobless benefits have dropped out of the labor force, that could pose problems for the Federal Reserve, which has put the unemployment rate at the center of monetary policy.The Fed has said it will hold interest rates near zero at least until the jobless rate drops to 6.5 percent. But if a big part of the decline reflects people dropping out of the labor force, that could be seen as a sign of weakness, not strength.

“Such a fall in the unemployment and participation rates could create some tricky choices for Fed policymakers as they assess the health of the labor market,” said JPMorgan’s Feroli. Not only will the expiration of emergency benefits affect the unemployment rate, it could also hit consumer spending and ultimately economic growth in the first quarter of 2014. “The program currently pays out benefits at around a $20-25 billion annual rate,” said Feroli. “Should that flow dry up, consumer spending could take a hit in the first quarter, perhaps subtracting around 0.4 percentage point from annualized real GDP growth in that quarter.” — Reuters

EPA fracking study could hurt energy boom WASHINGTON: America’s largest business lobby group warned the Obama administration on Tuesday against snuffing out the country’s energy boom with regulations on new oil and natural gas drilling technologies. US Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue said an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study due next year could be used to justify clamping down on drilling techniques that have sparked a surge in US oil and natural gas output.

“This could short-circuit America’s absolute explosion in energy opportunity that is creating millions of jobs,” he told a meeting of business executives. A major force in US politics, the Chamber of Commerce is the biggest business lobbying group in the country and has been a steady critic of President Barack Obama. In his comments, Donohue railed against the Obama administration’s efforts to increase regulations on businesses and appealed to the media to get his message out that the rules were hurting the economy and “undermining freedom.”

“They are costing jobs and growth in our country,” he said. White House Office of Management and Budget spokeswoman Emily Cain said the administration weighs the costs and benefits of all potential regulations and believes its regulatory approach supports economic growth “without sacrificing health, safety, and the environment.” The EPA’s study, first requested by Congress in 2010, may prove pivotal in the government’s regulation of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which involves forcing large volumes of water laced with chemicals and sand deep underground to crack rock and free oil and natural gas.

Currently, fracking is largely regulated by states, rather than the federal government. In its first major regulation on the energy boom, the EPA finalized a rule last year that targets smog-forming pollutants from fracking wells. It allows drillers to flare the gases until 2015. Critics of fracking, including many environmentalists, worry that drilling operations near schools and homes could pollute water and air.

The United States overtook Russia as the top producer of natural gas last year and surged past Saudi Arabia this year as the world’s biggest oil producer. Some companies, however, worry the EPA study could lead to added regulations that crimp America’s energy bounty. “Many believe it will be the rationalization of new federal fracking regulations before the end of this administration,”Donohue said. — Reuters

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Australian economy expands 0.6% in Q3 Shopping giant Westfield to split mall empire

60,000 transactions conducted via NBK’s Mobile Banking app KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait’s (NBK) Mobile Banking application has recently set a new record as the total number of financial transactions conducted by NBK customers via this around-the-clock dedicated online service has exceeded 60,000 monthly.

NBK is keen on developing its services to meet customers’ demands and make banking more convenient. NBK’s Mobile Banking application reflects NBK’s commitment to providing its customers with the best and most up-to-date banking services.

It is safe and easy to use, offering customers banking services with the added convenience of their mobile devices. NBK adopts the-state-of-the-art banking technologies and standards with the objective of providing utmost convenience and ease to customers.

NBK customers can download NBK Mobile Banking on NBK.com or by logging into Watani Online. All NBK customers can benefit from the most developed banking services and products on NBK Mobile Banking application. Checking balances, transferring funds, Credit Card and phone bill payments, ordering check books, requesting a printed account statement, branches and ATMs locater are all provided within the application. NBK’s free Mobile Banking application for Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and BlackBerry devices enables customers to easily and securely manage their financials anytime, anywhere as long as they are connected to the internet. All NBK customers can benefit from a wide range of banking services and products.

Jaguar extends focus on branded content in ME KUWAIT: Luxury car manufacturer Jaguar has revealed plans to collaborate with some of the MENA regions most prominent business leaders and innovators for its latest branded entertainment project entitled ‘In the Boardroom’.

The 15 part webisode series aims to increase Jaguar’s brand awareness amongst an executive audience and is set to air exclusively online over a four month period from November 2013 to February 2014. The series will feature key regional business leaders including the well-known Emirati animation director, creator of the highly popular animated TV series FREEJ and Chairman of Lammtara Art Production, Mohammed Saeed Harib; CEO of Mawarid, Mohamed Ali Mussabbeh Al Nuaimi; Saudi fashion blogger, stylist and consultant, Alanoud Al-Badr and CEO of the Arab Strategy Forum (ASF), Dr Sulaiman Al Hattlan.

The interviews, which are filmed in Jaguar’s flagship award-winning XJ saloon, sees interviewees reveal the inspiration behind their boardroom success, covering a variety of topics ranging from their childhood dreams to their business aspirations.

Each webisode will be approximately three minutes long and will be hosted on the Jaguar MENA social platforms in addition to a variety of online business portals.

Jaguar MENA made significant progress in the world of branded content creation last year with a series of films featuring talented individuals from Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The films portrayed the spirit of the Jaguar ALIVE campaign through in-car interviews with leading

regional personalities such as Tony SalamÈ, CEO of AÔshti in Beirut, Abeer Al-Essa, a senior PR specialist at Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Loai Naseem, founder and CEO of Lomar in Saudi Arabia and Ahmed Al Hashimi, an aspiring entrepreneur from the UAE. Speaking about the upcoming ‘In the Boardroom’ series, Hannah Naji, Marketing Director for Jaguar Land Rover MENA, said “Consumers in this region are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their media consumption and we have witnessed a growing appetite for branded entertainment. Digital video has all the attributes of television with the great benefit of interactivity and brand recall. Jaguar XJ customers are not only business executives; they are innovators, experts and leaders in their field and design businesses, technologies and lifestyles that have an impact on our culture.

We wanted to create content which resonated with them and I believe with the ‘In the Boardroom’ series, we have achieved just that.”

She continued: “Our increased emphasis on branded content has given us the opportunity to work with some of the region’s most innovative and open minded business leaders. Each one truly encapsulates the Jaguar brand personality through their work and attitude and it was an honour to have worked with them for this project.” Jaguar has confirmed it will continue to invest in branded content in the future as a way to increase brand awareness and engagement amongst consumers in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Malaysia grants tax break for showcase zone near Singapore KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has granted a substantial tax break to a zone in a showpiece investment project near Singapore, a move likely to provide crucial support to a $800 million initial public offering of the area’s developer next year. The Medini area in the southern state of Johor is the only section of the $30 billion Iskandar Development Region to get an exemption from a 30 percent property gains tax announced in October to cool soaring property prices, government officials said.

The area is being developed by Medini Iskandar Malaysia, a company that is 60 percent owned by Iskandar Investment, a corporation controlled by sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd . Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co Ltd and Dubaibased realtor United World Infrastructure each own 20 percent.

“Medini in 2006 and 2007 was a sparsely populated area and not a preferred invest-

ment location,” Ismail Ibrahim, chief executive of Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), told Reuters when asked why the area received an exemption. “The objective is to provide the catalyst to drive investments into Medini,” he said. Since its inception in 2006, Medini was exempt from property gains taxes. Medini Iskandar declined to comment about the latest tax exemption.

The tax break, however, means the company should be able to attract more funds into the Medini area, helping the prospects for its IPO as well as the government, which is seeking to lure more investors, especially from cash-rich Singapore, into the Iskandar region without inflating a broader property bubble. “It (the exemption) certainly gives it an edge over others in Iskandar,” said a banker involved in Medini Iskandar’s IPO, which is excepted to be launched in the first half of 2014. —Reuters

SYDNEY: Mining-powered Australia expanded a modest 0.6 percent in the three months to September and 2.3 percent on-year, showing a transitioning economy “stuck in second gear”, the government said yesterday. The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures came in short of analyst forecasts of 0.8 percent for the quarter and 2.6 percent on-year, underscoring the challenges for the commodity-rich nation as it transitions away from a decade of dependence on mining.

“The fact is the economy is stuck in second gear,” Treasurer Joe Hockey told reporters.

“Today’s numbers are a reminder of the tough trading conditions in the economy, particularly outside of the mining sector.” Hockey said the disappointing data, which saw the Australian dollar fall almost a full US cent from 91.35 US cents to as low as 90.48 cents, reflected a slowdown in the resources sector. “The fact is the mining companies are not importing new capital, and that clearly illustrates that we have some challenges ahead as mining investment drops from around eight percent of GDP to somewhere around three percent over the next few years,” he said.

“That is going to create a growth hole in the economy.” He said the budget had “deteriorated significantly” and the previous government’s preelection growth forecasts of 2.5 percent in 201314 and 3.0 percent in 2014-15 would not be met.

The year-on-year growth rate of 2.3 percent was well below long-term averages of about 3.25 percent. Commodities continued to underpin growth, contributing 0.3 percent to the increase in gross domestic product in the quarter, according to the ABS. But Australia’s terms of trade, a measure of export prices versus import prices, fell 3.3 percent in the quarter as commodity prices plunge amid slowing demand from China and new supply flooding the market. Investment in Australia’s decade-long Asia-led mining boom is widely considered to have peaked, with the central bank warning last month that there had been a “large fall” in spending in the key sector and further declines expected “over the next few years”.

Sectors closely associated with mining activity dropped steeply in the September quarter, weighing on the economy, with non-residential construction down 12.6 percent, wiping 1.3 percentage points from GDP growth. Machinery and equipment fell 2.4 percent on-quarter, reflecting a sharp slowdown in mining activity as major firms including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto shelve or scale back projects in a bid to shore up their bottom line.

Rio unveiled dramatic plans this week to reduce its capital expenditure by half within the next 12 months as it seeks to reverse its first annual loss in 18 years and forge a path to post-

boom profitability. Outside the mining sector Hockey said conditions remained subdued, with household spending muted and dwelling investment falling in the quarter.

He used the data to push the conservative government’s case for a repeal of corporate pollution and mining profits taxes in a bid to “speed up the Australian economy”. Scrapping the levies was a key plank of new Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s election platform, but the LaborGreens opposition have blocked the initiative in parliament.

The central bank left interest rates on hold at their record low 2.50 percent on Tuesday as earlier cuts continue to trickle down through the economy. Analysts said yesterday’s data would do little to stave off further rate cuts in the new

market, with a development pipeline for projects worth some US$3 billion. Westfield Group will be renamed Westfield Corporation with total assets of US$17.6 billion, comprising interests in 44 shopping centres in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.

The market reacted positively for Westfield Group, which gained 4.05 percent to close at Aus$10.78, although Westfield Retail Trust ended 0.33 percent lower at Aus$2.99. Westfield Group chairman Frank Lowy said the company’s international and local businesses had both grown in scale and quality to the stage where they could now stand on their own.

“They can each operate more efficiently, and generate greater growth and value for investors, by being independent,” he said. “The proposal

SYDNEY: City shoppers cross a busy intersection in central Sydney yesterday. —AFP year, showing a sluggish economy in need of stimulus. “The complexion of growth does not tell a compelling story that the domestic economy has accelerated. In fact, it has remained quite soft,” said National Australia Bank economist David de Garis.

Meanwhile, Australian shopping centre giant Westfield Group on Tuesday announced plans to split its international and Australian assets in a reshaping of its global empire designed to unlock more value for investors. Under the restructure, its Australian and New Zealand businesses-with interests in 47 malls-will be merged with those of Westfield Retail Trust, which was spun off from the main company in 2010.

The resulting US$26 billion entity, named Scentre, will be listed on the Australian stock

represents the latest in a series of capital restructures that have maintained the success of Westfield since it was first listed in 1960.”

“Our current structure has served us well, but we believe that this new structure will create more value for investors going forward.”

Lowy will be chairman of both entities, with Scentre expected to list in mid-2014. Westfield is one of the world’s largest shopping centre operators, and Lowy said a purely international focus for the new Westfield Corp would allow it to be more easily compared with international peers.

Invast chief market analyst Peter Esho said the decision to split the companies would help drive Westfield’s global expansion. “I think it’s a clever deal-what it allows Westfield to do is free itself up of capital and pursue international growth,” he said. —Agencies

With over $65 billion in debt, is Puerto Rico America’s Greece?

WASHINGTON: Laden with debt, its economy in recession: Is the US territory of Puerto Rico poised to become another Greece? The Caribbean island of 3.7 million has sent shivers through investors holding its $65 billion in bonds and through the administration of President Barack Obama, still trying to shake the country free of the 2008 financial crisis.

The White House has sent a team to help the territory strengthen its finances and economy, as debt rating agencies keep a close watch for signs of further weakness and financial analysts speculate of a possible default. The debt load, which has doubled over ten years, now amounts to 93 percent of the island’s GDP, more than troubled Spain, though still far short of Greece’s 176 percent.

That has sparked worries, especially after the city of Detroit, once the power center of the US auto industry, filed for bankruptcy. “Puerto Rico’s challenges didn’t develop overnight, and they will not be solved overnight,” the White House task force for Puerto Rico said candidly last month, announcing its plans to support the island.

Annexed by the United States in 1898, the mainly Spanish-speaking island is larger in population than many of the 50 US states. As a territory it operates under a hybrid system, with its own elected territorial government but under US laws, oversight from the US Congress, and some federal financial support.

The island’s economy has been stuck in recession since 2006 — with a brief rebound last year-and is expected to contract a further 0.8 percent in 2014. That record has left Puerto Rico with an official unemployment rate of 14.7 percent, more than double that of the United States.

“There’s a lot of pessimism in the air,” said Argeo Quinones-Perez, professor of economics at the University of Puerto Rico. He said that citizens continue to leave the island due to the dismal economic prospects, with 27,000 fleeing in 2012. The economy was once more dynamic, built up by a Washingtonbacked strategy known as Operation Bootstrap that attracted investment to build an industrial sector on top of the island’s traditional sugar plantation economy.

Manufacturers, pharmaceutical and even bio-technology firms have set up in Puerto Rico, drawn by corporate tax exemptions and environmental standards lower than in the US mainland. But the tax breaks were wound up in 2006, pulling out a crucial support for the economy just as the rest of the United States began slipping toward recession and the global economy slowed. Quinones-Perez said the island’s development model has to be entirely rethought, now that the competition for foreign investment has gotten much tougher. “When this strategy was adopted after the WWII, the amount of countries that were competing to attract foreign investment was perhaps 50 in the world.

Now you have close to 200.” The island began pumping out bonds over the past decade to raise funds to boost economic development. US pension funds readily sucked up the debt, attracted by high yields and tax breaks. —AFP

TOKYO: A businessman uses his smartphone before a share prices board yesterday. Japan’s share prices dropped 341.72 points to close at 15,407.94 points at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, dragged down by a stronger yen and profit-taking after the Nikkei hit a near six-year high. —AFP

Detroit bankruptcy case can go forward CHICAGO: The city of Detroit won judicial approval to move forward with the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history Tuesday despite objections from city workers fearful of losing their pensions. Saddled with more than $18 billion in debt and a tax base depleted by decades of population loss and urban blight, the birthplace of the US auto industry has been so strapped for cash it can’t even keep the street lights on. It filed for bankruptcy protection in July, the largest US city ever to do so.

After lengthy initial hearings and weeks of deliberation, Judge Steven Rhodes ruled Detroit is eligible to restructure its debt and liabilities under Chapter 9 of the US bankruptcy code. The decision was immediately appealed by the city’s largest public sector union. It was hailed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder as the only “viable” way for Detroit to “stay on the path toward a brighter future.” “There will be other difficult decisions as we work through this process,” Snyder said in a statement. “But Michigan and Detroit are resilient and are the comeback stories in the country.

Working together we can and will make sure that reinvention happens.” In an unusual move, Rhodes explained his decision in a court hearing prior to releasing his complex 140-page opinion.

Bankruptcy was a “foregone conclusion” and should have happened years ago, Rhodes told the packed courtroom. “The city no longer has the resources to... provide its citizens basic services,” the Detroit News quoted Rhodes as saying. “To reverse this decline and attract new residents and

revitalize and reinvigorate, Detroit needs help.”

Thousands of retired city workers are fearful they will be pushed into poverty if Detroit is able to slash their pension benefits, which are supposed to be protected by the Michigan state constitution.Rhodes warned that federal bankruptcy law allows for the pensions to be cut, adding “the court emphasizes that it will not lightly or causally exercise federal bankruptcy law to impair pensions.” The city-owned Detroit Institute of Arts is also at risk of closing its doors if Rhodes allows even part of its world-class collection to be sold to pay off Detroit’s debts.

Rhodes indicated that may not happen, arguing that selling assets would be a one-time fix that wouldn’t address Detroit’s deeper problems. The bankruptcy is expected to make it harder for municipalities in Michigan and other US states to borrow money by undermining confidence in what used to be among the most trusted bonds available. The situation in Detroit is being closely monitored by government workers across the country who are fearful that they too may see their retirement benefits slashed by cash-strapped states and cities. Emergency manager Kevyn Orr said he hopes unions, pension funds and other creditors will work with him on a “consensual” plan to slash Detroit’s debts “so it can growth and thrive.” “We’re trying to be very thoughtful, measured and humane about what we have to do,” Orr told reporters. “The reality is there’s not enough money to address the (pension) situation no matter what we do.” —AFP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Governance issues in public sector hinders PPP projects in Kuwait MARKAZ REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” recently published a strategic note on Law No. 7/2008 to govern the country’s Public-Private Partnership Projects (PPP). The report evaluates possible reasons for ineffectiveness of the Law and provides an analysis of means of project financing options that can be used to effectively execute these PPP projects.

Markaz’s report notes that the PPP model has gained traction in recent years. The PPP model enables governments to efficiently execute largescale, complex projects that are capital intensive.

However, the PPP Law in Kuwait has not been received well within the private sector primarily due to the overwhelming requirements, stringent rules and regulations being imposed on private players and limited project financing options, in addition to weak governance in the public sector.

This has resulted in delays in a number of important projects in the country. Some of the key

impediments to a successful PPP Law in Kuwait include: * Project financing constraints: The PPP Law also does not allow the disposal or grant of any lien, mortgage or other real rights to the subject land, including construction on the land. There also exists restriction on granting pledges over construction during the project’s term. * Stiff regulations: The Law includes an overwhelming number of rules and regulations so as to control the project. These stringent and stiff regulations sometimes act as a hindrance instead of an alleviator for the private sector investors. For example, private sector investors must hand back the project to the government without any consideration and compensation, and Non-listed KSE companies and foreign companies will be subject to extensive prequalification process which requires to include painstaking project details, preparation of a

response to an RFQ, stringent evaluation steps and approval mechanism. * Vague project approval and bidding process: There is a complex institutional structure. Each stage of the project involves dealing with numerous entities in the public sector where governance is behindhand. The bureaucratic complexity of the process was a key factor in preventing the rollout of PPP projects. * Vague project scope of work: Clarity of scope of work with some of the projects has been poor.

Therefore, poorly written Term of References (TOR) with loosely held scope of work discourages private sector investors to participate in a PPP project and does not allocate the risk appropriately between the government and private players.

The report stresses the need to develop local Capital Market for PPP projects to ease the financing burden substantially by considerably lowering

the WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital). To make PPP projects more attractive to local and international investors, the reports suggest the following policies: * Improving access to Debt Market to reduce the cost of the PPP Project to the economy and make some PPP Projects economically viable. * Restructuring financial guidelines for projects in coordination with investment professionals; * Breaking down larger projects into smaller sizes or to be phased; * Introducing Credit Ratings - rating of the project will attract funds from international institutions, and may require credit enhancements to be in place in order to improve the rating; * Ensuring a mechanism for real risk sharing / transfer between public and private sectors; * Having longer term concessions and more robust off take agreements.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum opens FIKR 12 Khalid Al-Faisal discusses challenges affecting Arab world

Huawei previews next gen ICT services at Zain Technology Conference 2013 DUBAI: As further investments are put behind intelligent information networks across the Middle East, Huawei-a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider-has partnered with Zain Group, a pioneer mobile telecommunications provider in MENA-to identify the foremost technology innovations planned for the year ahead which aim to deliver an enhanced customer experience to subscribers across the region. Such discussions took center stage at this week’s annual Zain Technology Conference 2013 held at the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai, UAE, from December 1-3.

Following the success of the 2012 edition, this year’s Zain Technology Conference has been convened with the goal of bringing together Zain’s global technology partners to outline their latest services in the telecommunications field with all Zain operating companies while at the same recognizing opportunities of mutual interest between the Zain’s numerous suppliers and service providers.

“The 2013 Zain Technology Event is a platform for all of Zain’s management and partners to exchange telecom expertise, tools and technologies. It is an ideal opportunity to future-proof Zain through familiarizing ourselves with the latest technologies and solutions from our communication service providers and network partners, who are all working towards the same goal of operational success and customer satisfaction,” says Scott Gegenheimer, Chief Executive Officer of Zain Group.

The Middle East is one of the fastest growing regions for the global telecommunications sector with spending on IT infrastructure in the Middle East is predicted to jump to over $192 billion in 2013, with Saudi Arabia being seen as one of the dominant players.

Welcoming a host of global and regional telecom experts, Huawei put forward an expanded agenda of keynote sessions during this year’s conference, investigating recent advancements within the areas of 4G mobile broadband, telecom Business Support Systems (BSS), Smart City solutions, and several new convergence strategies for aligning voice, video & data services for customers.

“The world of telecommunications and network technologies is a constantly evolving one. At the heart of this evolution today is the customer experience, with new innovations being geared dramatically towards adding value to the user experience-whether individuals or businesses,” comments Shi Yaohong, President of Huawei Middle East. “As we transition into the Internet of Things, it is the networked readiness of telecom operators that will serve as a core differentiator moving forward. With greater business potential in the future of Smart Cities in particular, telecom operators will play a central role in supporting e-Government portals, smart utility grids, connected hospitals, unified public safety networks, and more.”

“The strategic partnership between Zain and Huawei is a fantastic example of collaboration for such technological advancements, with this year’s Zain Technology Conference opening up new avenues for true cross-industry collaboration,” adds Yaohong. Huawei and Zain have a long history of collaboration in the Middle East across a wide range of telecommunication services. Since 2010 Huawei has been a steadfast partner in the rollout of mobile broadband for Zain including recent the plans to launch a commercial LTE-Advanced network in Kuwait. Earlier this year the two ICT leaders also announced plans to launch a first of its kind Joint Innovation Center.

Zain was also one of the pioneers in the Middle East to invest considerable human resources and capital in developing enterprise business solutions such as IT data centers that support government and organizational customers in their day-to-day operations. Serving one third of the world’s population and 45 out of the world’s top 50 telecom operators, today Huawei delivers competitive end-to-end ICT solutions across the cloud, pipe and devices. The company realized over $18.5 billion in global revenues during the first half of this year-an increase of 10.8 percent over the same period in 2012. Huawei has further achieved robust double-digit revenue growth in the Middle East through new industry partnerships as well as a diversification of its ICT solutions portfolio.

KUWAIT: Group picture of Citi alumni pose with Citibank Kuwait senior management. Ozgur Kutay is standing fifth from left in the front row.

Citi alumni network holds 2nd annual event in Kuwait KUWAIT: Citibank Kuwait held its second annual Citi Alumni Network Event at Le Notre Restaurant on Monday, November 24, 2013. The event is an annual one initiated by Citi to thank its former employees for their commitment, hard work, and loyalty which contributed to the franchise’s success in Kuwait and elsewhere.

Speak ing at the event, Citibank Kuwait CEO and General Manager, Ozgur Kutay said: “Since we established our office here in Kuwait seven years ago, we have made a clear footprint and it gives us great pleasure to witness how far we have come. When it comes to the Alumni, our most valuable asset, celebrating this achievement with you is living proof that we have excelled in preparing you and paving the way for

you to become the experienced bankers you are today. If we did not succeed in building our people then we would not be where we are today”.

Also attending the celebration were former Citibank employees who worked in Citi’s offices in several countries around the world and are now working in Kuwait, some of whom spent at least 25 years with Citi as well as senior Citi executives in Kuwait and the region.

The Citi Alumni Network is open to all alumni who worked with Citi for at least two years. Alumni are encouraged to sign up at www.citialumninetwork.com. Once the registration is complete, an email confirmation will be sent, and members can start submitting relevant news articles as well as their own alumni stories.

DUBAI: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, yesterday marked the official opening of the Annual Conference of the Arab Thought Foundation (FIKR 12), being held at The Ritz-Carlton DIFC under the theme: “Job Creation: 80 Million Jobs by 2020 in the Arab World,’ on December 4 and 5, 2013.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid praised the major annual event, which brings together Arab intellectuals, thought leaders and innovators, and provides a communication platform for them to exchange views on the most important and fundamental concerns of the Arab world.

Sheikh Mohammed commended the efforts of His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Arab Thought Foundation (ATF),

DUBAI: The royal officials are pictured at the event.

Prince Khalid Al-Faisal an organization with vast experience in launching development, thought and cultural initiative in the Arab world.

Sheikh Mohammed welcomed the guests and participants, and called for identifying strategies and action plans that would support the development of the Arab world. The event was also attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai; Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Governor of Makkah Region, Chairman of the Arab Thought Foundation; Prince Turki Al-Faisal and a number of sheikhs, princes and ministers, presidents and directors of departments and institutions, and a host of local, Arab cultural and media representatives.

Prince Khalid Al-Faisal expressed his gratitude to the United Arab Emirates, led by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, and to Dubai, and congratulated Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum, Ruler of Dubai, on the UAE winning the bid to host the World Expo 2020 in Dubai, for

the first time in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region. He also congratulated the UAE on its 42nd National Day, wishing the UAE government and its people further progress and prosperity.

He recited a poem in which he addressed various issues, such as Islam values and the Arab civilization, to name a few. The ceremony paid tribute to the deceased FIKR ambassadors, Ibrahim Muthana and Nazih Sanjaqdar, and joined for a moment of silence in solidarity with FIKR’s ambassador Hassan Karajeh, who is currently imprisoned in an Israeli jail.

Prince Khalid Al-Faisal presented to Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, “The Arab Creativity Award” for the project “Dubai Smart City” Initiative, which was launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, and has contributed to achieving unprecedented technical and scientific development within the Emirate.

The conference witnessed the participation of 130 Arab intellectuals, thought leaders and innovators, who participate over two days in a number of workshops. The conference kicked off with an “Experts Session,” which was held in partnership with B’huth, under the theme: “A Roadmap for Job Creation in the Arab World”.

This closed session saw participation from experts and government officials, where they discussed and worked on outlining a roadmap for the development of new business opportunities in the Arab world, in response to the Arab Thought Foundation’s initiative. The session was moderated by Mohammed Baharoon, Vice President of B’huth Research Center in the UAE. Another closed session titled “Media Impact on the Enhancement of the Culture of Labour Societies” was organised in conjunction with the

Experts Sessions. It brought together editors and senior journalists of Arabic newspapers to discuss the media’s role in job creation in the Arab world. This session was moderated by Saad AlAjmi, a well-known academic and media expert from Kuwait.

Four morning workshops were organized.

The first workshop titled “Public Policy Enhancement in the Arab World,” was held in partnership with Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University in Beirut (AUB), and was moderated

by Hana Al-Ghali, Main Coordinator of making policies in the Arab world program, at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs.

The second workshop titled “Rethinking Economic Growth Towards Productive and Inclusive Arab Societies,” was organized in partnership with the International Labor Organization (ILO), while the third workshop titled “Labor Mobility Policies” was organized in partnership with International Organization for Migration and the fourth workshop titled “Sustainable Job Creation and Talents Retention” was organized in partnership with Accenture and moderated by Mohammed Al-Jashi, Human Resources Consultant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Hamad Al-Ammari, Assistant Secretary General of the Arab Thought Foundation, presented the main theme of this year’s FIKR conference at the opening ceremony. This was followed by the unveiling of a report on “Enabling Jobs Creation in the Arab World”, during which the pioneering role of Saudi Aramco (Partner Sponsor) in enabling job creation in the Arab world was highlighted. The main plenary session discussed “Enabling Jobs Creation: Whose Responsibility is it?”

Cadillac Escalade wins JD Power Quality Award for 4th year in a row KUWAIT: The Cadillac Escalade has achieved yet another commendable milestone that furthers its global leading position as the luxury vehicle of choice. The world renowned JD Power has recently announced the results of the survey it conducted that included the world’s most popular and famous cars. JD Power concluded that the Cadillac Escalade has won in the Large Premium CUV segment category for the fourth consecutive year, an admirable achievement for Cadillac as the triumphant title highlights the Cadillac Escalade’s exceptional build quality features and performance.

It is worth mentioning that Cadillac Escalade received the lowest number of problems per 100 vehicles among large premium CUV’s in the proprietary J.D. Power 2013 Initial Quality Study.

The 2014 Escalade is now available in Safat AlGhanim Showroom, enriched with numerous features all of which harmoniously merge cuttingedge technology with utmost luxury starting with its standard-setting 6.2L 403 HP V8 engine that moves the Escalades from 0-60 kilometers in 6.8 seconds. The impressive list of features continues to include navigation with a rearview camera, heated and cooled front seats and Tri-Zone Climate Control, elements that highlight the Escalade’s technologically advanced performance and its perfect alignment with the model of the new year.

The Escalade’s technological features are complemented by the luxury car’s convenient factors such as the adaptive remote start. With it, the Escalade’s engine may be started and the interior’s climate may be heated or cooled from a distance that is approximately half a football field. That way, the driver and passengers have the luxury of entering the Escalade at a comfortable temperature.

What’s more is that the heated seats will automati-

cally turn on during cold weather. The Escalade’s safety features balance the power and prowess of the award-winning Cadillac. To help the driver achieve constant control, Stabilitrak continually processes an array of sensor information from multiple vehicle systems as well as adjusts the engine power and individual brakes to keep the vehicle on the driver’s intended path. Another safety feature includes a rearview camera with back up lines that guides the driver’s path, allowing the driver to see what lies behind the vehicle while the Escalade’s integrated Rear Park Assist sounds an audible warning chime and reveals a visual warming triangle on the navigation screen when the object is detected and located.

Owning a Cadillac means that an individual will

enjoy peace of mind on and off the road. As with all Cadillac vehicles, the Cadillac Escalade comes with the most comprehensive suite of owner benefits, providing luxury owners everything they need including free service and maintenance for four years or 100,000 km, 24-hour roadside assistance, warranty for 4 years or 100,000 km and finally, courtesy transportation and a replacement vehicle when one’s Cadillac is undergoing maintenance service.Adding to the luxury ,Cadillac offers its customers in Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim the highest quality of services. Being one of the largest in the world, the service center is equipped with a large variety of the most advanced equipment operated by a team of skilled professionals and effective consultants who ensure timely service.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

technology

A leap forward in X-ray technology Detailed images from a lightweight device MASSACHUSETTS: X-rays transformed medicine a century ago by providing a noninvasive way to detect internal structures in the body. Still, they have limitations: X-rays cannot image the body’s soft tissues, except with the use of contrast-enhancing agents that must be swallowed or injected, and their resolution is limited.

But a new approach developed by researchers at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) could dramatically change that, enabling the most detailed images ever - including clear views of soft tissue without any need for contrast agents.

The work will be presented by MIT postdoc Shuo Chen at the 13th International Workshop on Micro and Nanotechnology for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications (PowerMEMS 2013), being held Dec. 3 to 6 in London.

The new technology “could make X-rays ubiquitous, because of its higher resolution, the fact that the dose would be smaller and the hardware smaller, cheaper, and more capable than current X-rays,” says Luis Velesquez-Garcea, a principal research scientist at MIT ’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories and senior author of the PowerMEMS paper.

Velesquez-Garcea says that while conventional X-ray systems show little or no structure in most soft tissues - including all of the body’s major organ sys-

tems - the new system would show these in great detail. A test the team performed with an eye from a cadaver using X-rays from a particle accelerator clearly shows “all the structures, the lens and the cornea,” he says. “In time we are confident our system will be able to achieve such resolution with a far simpler and cheaper device.”

The key is to produce coherent beams of X-rays from an array of micron-sized point sources, instead of a spread from a single, large point as in conventional systems, Velesquez-Garcea explains. The team’s approach includes developing hardware that is an innovative application of batch microfabrication processes used to make microchips for computers and electronic devices.

Using these methods - alternating between depositing layers of material and selectively etching the material away - the MIT researchers have produced a nanostructured surface with an array of tiny tips, each of which can emit a beam of electrons. These, in turn, pass through a microstructured plate that emits a beam of X-rays.

Using the first version of the cathode, the team was able to capture high-resolution absorption images of samples where fine soft-tissue structures are clearly visible. “This is very exciting,” VelesquezGarcea says. “We just started, but we are confident we are on the right path.”

Majority of users could not fully restore data damaged by malware DUBAI: When malware strikes, the impact on data can be disastrous. And to make matters worse, there’s no guarantee of getting that valuable information back.

Only 39% were able to retrieve all the data they lost in a malware attack, according to a summer 2013 survey by B2B International and Kaspersky Lab. 61%lost at least some of their information forever.

One attack in five successfully steals or corrupts confidential data. For 17% of victims, that data was irretrievably lost; 44%could only restore part of their lost information. And ultimately it’s the data that matters to us: the survey showed that 56%value their information more highly than the computer which stores it. Users are willing to pay for data recovery, with one in ten hiring outside experts to try to claw back the missing bytes.

However data recovery is often too late: not all data can be restored. For example, a third party specialist can do nothing if the user’s computer is infected by a so called file encryptor, a malicious program which encrypts the user’s files. To decrypt these files, a unique key is required. The only way of getting that key is to deal with the criminals, who usually demand a ransom. One of the most dangerous samples of this type of malware is Seftad. A successful Seftad attack can encrypt not only the user’s photos and video but also the master boot record (MBR).It completely blocks access to the computer, and can irretrievablydestroy all programs on the hard disc. Is there any way to avoid the losing important information to malicious attacks? Of course there are many, including the extreme measure of refusing to store valuable data

on digital devices. But only two are really viable - regular back-ups and a reliable protection solution.

Kaspersky Lab develops security solutions to answer specific features of cyberthreats. This is the only way to create reliable protection technologies. For example, we know that Windows is the desktop platform most often attacked by cybercriminals. They use various sophisticated techniques to achieve their goals - rootkit technologies, vulnerabilities in legitimate applications, etc. To combat them, Kaspersky Internet Security features several proactive technologies which can repel the most dangerous threats:these includeAutomatic Exploit Preventionto protect software vulnerabilities, and effectiveAnti-rootkit systems.

The same approach informs the development of Kaspersky Lab’s security solutions for other platforms. The company’s in-house technologiesfor data protection are featured in Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac and Kaspersky Internet Security for Android.

Kaspersky Lab is the world’s largest privately held vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The company is ranked among the world’s top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users*. Throughout its more than 16-year history Kaspersky Lab has remained an innovator in IT security and provides effective digital security solutions for large enterprises, SMBs and consumers. Kaspersky Lab, with its holding company registered in the United Kingdom, currently operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 300 million users worldwide.

The resulting coherent beam of X-rays from the optimized cathode chip would be equivalent to something that can now be produced only by “incredibly expensive” systems at linear particle accelerators, Velesquez-Garcea says. But those facilities have demonstrated the diagnostic power of the images they can produce - for example, clearly revealing the presence of a cancerous tumor by showing the details of the blood vessels supplying it. Similarly, an image of a knee reveals all the ligaments, muscle attachments, and fine details of the bone structures that cannot be seen at all on conventional X-rays.

“You can’t have a linear accelerator in every hospital,” Velesquez-Garcea says. But the new system could potentially improve the resolution of X-ray imagery by a factor of 100 with hardware that costs orders of magnitude less, he says.

Even when soft tissue can be imaged conventionally by adding contrast agents such as barium, the use of those agents takes extra time, and the agents themselves can pose risks, he says. And because the new system is electronic - today’s thermionic systems take time to heat up - it can be switched on and off much faster, resulting in a much lower dose of radiation to the patient, Velesquez-Garcea says.

He says the technology could also have applications beyond the medical field. For example, X-rays

Bullet trains on a pro-nuclear curve OSAKA: In the debate over the future of nuclear power, which provided about a third of Japan’s electricity needs before the Fukushima disaster began in 2011, commentators for and against resuming its use have argued their case.

Experts on both sides often rely on arguments couched in status-quo assumptions or general platitudes. Serious discussions are backed by mind-numbing details on endless PowerPoint slides, requiring the patience of Buddha to endure, let alone comprehend.

But in the Kansai region, which relied on nuclear power for nearly half of its electricity before the three core meltdowns in March 2011, and in Fukui Prefecture, where 13 reactors supplied it, one reason for going back to nuclear requires neither a degree in economics nor nuclear engineering to understand. It’s just good old-fashioned pork-barrel politics.

This involves the future of trains. Specifically, the future route of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line, which, if all works out, will link Nagano with Osaka, via Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, sometime in the middle of the century. The question for Kansai’s nuclear industry, however, is whether the central government will ensure Fukui gets a good chunk of the route and whether it will run down the eastern or western side of Lake Biwa, in Shiga Prefecture, to get to Osaka. Three routes have been proposed, including one that would take bullet trains through southern Fukui, where the reactors are.

Kansai’s leaders are well aware of how important the Hokuriku line will be to Fukui and strongly support extending it southwest to Osaka. But for economic reasons, they want it to go from Tsuruga to JR Maibara Station, on the eastern side of the lake.

That means that it would bypass other towns in the southern part of Fukui that host reactors.

The third proposed route would take the line along Lake Biwa’s western shore, keeping it in Shiga.

OSAKA: Two reactor buildings at Kansai Electric Power Co’s nuclear plant in Oi, Fukui Prefecture, are shown in July.

In the meantime, Toyama and Ishikawa prefecFukui’s pro-nuclear governor and the towns hosting its reactors want, of course, for the line to tures are sending signals that the shinkansen projpass through their backyards so they can take ect is related to nuclear power. At a meeting last advantage of the extra new passengers it would week, the heads of the three prefectural assemprovide and lots of central government subsidies. blies agreed on extending it to Osaka and on What if Tokyo picks a different route? Well, restarting the reactors as soon as possible.

At the end of the day, the financial concerns of although not required by law, local approval is a de facto condition for restarting idled reactors. If the Fukui and the Hokuriku region are going to influshinkansen don’t pull into their stations with cash ence Kansai’s energy policy. The Hokuriku subsidies, or if the people don’t indirectly benefit Shinkansen Line is a major bargaining chip for from the line somehow, Kansai may find Fukui’s Fukui, Kansai and the central government in reachmayors and governor suddenly less cooperative ing a deal on just how those concerns can be addressed. — AP about approving restarts.

IIT students ditch huge salaries for job profile MUMBAI/KOLKATA: Two 21-year-old, soon-tograduate IIT Kanpur engineers stunned tech major Oracle by turning down offers of $210,000 each, a top person involved in the process said. Both have opted for other companies that offered lesser pay, but gave roles the students liked better.

They may have opted for Google, which offered $110,000, or Tower Research Capital, a US-based financial services firm, which rolled out a package of $120,000. “This just shows that not everyone is running after money,” a placement team member, who did not wish to be named, said.

“These students are mature; they know money does not reflect everything.” The rapidly unfolding drama on Day 2 of the campus placement season at IITs threw more surprises. Zomato, an online food and restaurant listings startup, offered the highest salary on Day 2 at IIT Bombay, more than what marquee brands, including Samsung India R&D, Citicorp, Xerox Research, Adobe and American Express, were willing to pay. Zomato hired four students from IITDelhi and Bombay at a

uniform package of Rs26 lakh each. Forty-one companies were present at IIT-Bombay. On Monday, ET had reported that Oracle had made crore-plus offers at IIT-Madras.

At Kanpur, Oracle had shortlisted three students from computer science background on Sunday and four in the waiting list. Two from the waiting list have since been hired to make up for the dropouts, a placement team member at IITKanpur said. Oracle has also hired students from IIT-Madras and Bombay, all at similar crore-plus salaries.

A Google spokesperson said the company was hiring from India for software engineer profile for their US, UK, Australia and India locations, but declined to comment on compensation.

Companies hired aggressively across all IITs. IIT Kharagpur believes in building relationships and companies have responded enthusiastically, hiring the highest number of candidates on Day 1, h says SK Barai, professor-in-charge, training and placement, IIT Kharagpur.

Twenty companies, including Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Opera Solutions, Google and Schlumberger Asia Services, rolled out 170 offers (including 75 PPOs) at IIT Kharagpur. Real estate portal Housing.com was among the recruiters from the start-up space. More startups are expected. On Day 2 at IIT Madras, social networking sites like LinkedIn picked up 5 students, Citicorp Services India hired 10, Intel Technology recruited 6 and Eaton Technologies made 10 offers. We received 93 offers on the first day, and till the end of session 1 on day 2, there have been 48 offers.

That is a total of 141 offers, not including PPOs, h Lt Col (Retd.) Jayakumar, deputy registrar (students and placement), IIT Madras, said. IIT Roorkee received 80 offers on Day 1 and around 8-10 companies hired on the second day of placements.

At IIT Guwahati, some 70 students have been selected by 15 companies, including Microsoft, Google, Tata Motors, Morgan Stanley, Flipkart, ITC and Dell.

Low-cost smartphones hurting feature phones in India NEW DELHI: Driven by lower-priced models from domestic handset makers, smartphone sales in India has grown over three-fold to touch 12.8 million units in third quarter of 2013 cannibalising the feature phone market, research firm IDC says.

According to IDC, the India smartphone market grew by 229% year-on-year to 12.8 million smartphones in third quarter of 2013 compared to 3.8 million units in Q3 of 2012.

Smartphone sales grew 28% in Q3 of 2013 compared to April-June 2013 (10.02 million), it added.

A smartphone is a mobile device built on a mobile operating system, with more advanced capabilities and connectivity than a feature phone. IDC said 53.9 million feature phones numbers were sold in Q3 of 2013 compared to 55.7 million in Q3 of 2012.

are used to check for defects in composite materials; the portability of the new system could allow more widespread use of such safety measures. The new system could also be useful in airport screening of baggage, where its ability to distinguish among liquids could make it much easier for agents to differentiate a harmless bottle of shampoo from a container of explosive material or a hazardous chemical. The test device the team built, working with Rajiv Gupta of MGH, is housed in an 8-inch metal cube, about the size of a shoebox. The team expects to spend two to three years refining and improving the design, Velesquez-Garcea says; commercial versions could be available within a few years after that.

Christopher Holland, a principal scientist at Micro Science Engineering Laboratories in Menlo Park, Calif., who was not involved in this work, says, “The approach being pursued by the authors of this article and others on the MIT team is novel and has significant potential for imaging soft tissue using Xrays.” He cautions, “The demonstration in this paper is only a laboratory demonstration and not yet portable,” but says it is “a steppingstone on that path.” The research, which also included MIT postdoc Frances Hill and graduate student Eric Heubel, was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The share of feature phones slipped to 81% (from 84%) of the total market in Q3 2013, it added. This is despite feature phone sales growing three per cent quarter-on-quarter in the July-September 2013.

“The change agents for this rapid shift of consumer preference towards Smartphones have been the narrowing price gap between feature phones and smartphones,” IDC India Research Manager Kiran Kumar said.

The smartphone market is expected to maintain these elevated levels of growth in the near future, Kumar added.

The overall mobile phone market (feature phones and smartphones) registered 12% yearon-year growth and 7% sequential growth.

The share of feature phones slipped to 81% of the total market in Q3 2013, even as the segment grew 3% quarter-on-quarter in the July-

September 2013.

South Korean firm Samsung led the handset market with 15.3% share, followed by Nokia (14.7%), Micromax (10.1%) and Karbonn (9.1%).

Other smaller players accounted for a cumulative share of 50.8%.

“The growth in the smartphone market continues to drive the overall growth numbers for the phone market - given that there’s still a huge potential for smartphone penetration in India, this trend is expected to continue in the coming quar ters,” IDC India Senior Market Analyst Manasi Yadav said.

In the smartphone segment, Samsung held the leadership spot with 32.9 per cent share, while Micromax secured the second spot with 17.1% market share in Q3 of 2013. Karbonn had 11.2% share, followed by Nokia 5% and Lava at 4.7%.

US woman denies Google Glass driving charge LOS ANGELES: A US woman thought to be the first person to get a traffic ticket for wearing Google Glass pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday, her lawyer said. Cecilia Abadie, who was wearing the hi-tech eye-wear but says it was not turned on at the time, was charged with speeding and distracted driving on a San Diego area freeway on October 29.

On Tuesday, her lawyer William Concidine appeared in court with the 44-year-old to deny the charges.

“Our primary argument is that Ms. Abadie was not driving while the Google Glass was actually operational,” he told AFP, adding: “There is nothing illegal about simply wearing the Google Glass while it is not turned on.”

The traffic code on which she was cited makes it a violation to drive a vehicle “if a television receiver, a video monitor, or a television or video screen” is visible, according to the LA Times.

The speeding ticket alleges that she was driving at 130 kmh in a 105 kmh zone.

“The issue will be what does the officer who cited Ms. Abadie testify to at the trial regarding whether he saw, or did not see, the Google Glass being used while Ms. Abadie was driving the vehicle,” said her lawyer.

A judge set a trial date of January 16, her lawyer said.

Concidine added: “I believe that this case is unique in that this ...is the first known case involving Google Glass. As technology continues to advance, we always question how the law will respond to that technology.

“Google Glass is that next step in technology, and it will be interesting to see if the law changes as new devices are developed or if the legislature leaves it to the courts to decide how to interpret the existing laws.”

Glass lets wearers take pictures, record video, send messages or perform other tasks with touch controls or by speaking commands. It connects to the Internet using Wi-Fi hot spots or being wirelessly tethered to mobile phones.

Facebook, Twitter and major news organizations have already tailored applications for Google Glass, which has only been made available to developers and a limited selection of “explorers” who paid $1,500 each for the eyewear. Envisioned uses range from practical tasks such as shopping or delivering local weather reports to sharing real time video streams or playing augmented reality games in which the world is the board.

Google has not announced a public release date for Google Glass but speculation centers around early 2014.

The San Diego case may the first, but in theory cases involving the technology could multiply rapidly once the eye-catching spectacles become widely available.

“The fact that the law was written before Google Glass existed leaves it open for debate whether (lawmakers) considered such technology when drafting the law and whether it is actually covered by the existing law as written,” said Concidine. — AFP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

NH hospital worker gets 39 years in hepatitis case CONCORD: A traveling medical technician who stole painkillers and infected dozens of patients in multiple states with hepatitis C through tainted syringes was sentenced to 39 years in prison.

“I don’t blame the families for hating me,” David Kwiatkowski said after hearing about 20 statements from people he infected and their relatives. “I hate myself.” Kwiatkowski, 34, was a cardiac technologist in 18 hospitals in seven states before being hired at New Hampshire’s Exeter Hospital in 2011. He had moved from job to job despite being fired at least four times over allegations of drug use and theft. Since his arrest last year, 46 people have been diagnosed with the same strain of hepatitis C he carries.

US Attorney John Kacavas said the sentence “ensures that this serial infector no longer is in a position to do harm to innocent and vulnerable people.”

Kwiatkowski admitted stealing painkillers and replacing them with saline-filled syringes tainted with his blood. He pleaded guilty in August to 16 federal drug charges.

Before he was sentenced, Kwiatkowski stood and faced his victims, saying he was very sorry and that his crimes were caused by an addiction to painkillers and alcohol. He told investigators he had been stealing drugs since at least 2003 and swapping syringes since at least 2008.

“There’s no excuse for what I’ve done,” he said. “I know the pain and suffering I have caused.” Prosecutors asked for a 40year sentence. Judge Joseph Laplante said he cut the last year as a reminder that some people have the capacity for mercy and compassion.

“It’s important for you to recognize and remember as you spend the next 39 years in prison to focus on the one year you didn’t get and try to develop that capacity in yourself,” Laplante said. The victims spoke angrily and tearfully of the pain that Kwiatkowski had inflicted by giving them hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can cause liver disease and chronic health problems. Authorities say the disease played a role in one woman’s death. “You may only be facing drug charges, but make no mistake, you are a

serial killer,” said Kathleen Murray of Elmira, N.Y., whose mother was infected in Baltimore and was too ill to travel to New Hampshire for the sentencing.

Linda Ficken, 71, said she is haunted by the memory of Kwiatkowski standing at her hospital bedside in Kansas for more than an hour applying pressure to the catheter’s entry site in her leg to control bleeding.

“On one hand, you were saving my life, and on the other hand, your acts are a death sentence for me,” Ficken, of Andover, Kan., told him. “Do I thank you for what you did to help me? Do I despise you for what your actions did and will continue to do for the rest of my life? Or do I simply just feel sorry for you being the pathetic individual you are?”

Prosecutors said Kwiatkowski deserved 40 years for creating a “national public health crisis,” putting a significant number of people at risk and caused substantial physical and emotional harm to a large number of victims.

Assistant US Attorney John Farley called Kwiatkowski’s actions “exceedingly callous” and “unbelievably cruel” and

noted that Kwiatkowski could’ve stolen painkillers without exposing his patients to hepatitis C. Defense lawyers argued that a 30year sentence would better balance the seriousness of the crimes against Kwiatkowski’s mental and emotional problems and his addiction to drugs and alcohol, which they said clouded his judgment.

“David Kwiatkowski is not a monster,” said attorney Bjorn Lange. “He didn’t set out to infect himself or anyone else with the hepatitis C virus.” In all, 32 patients were infected in New Hampshire, seven in Maryland, six in Kansas and one in Pennsylvania. Though prosecutors have not included the Pennsylvania case in their count, a spokeswoman for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has repeatedly said the hospital had one confirmed case. Kwiatkowski also worked in Michigan, New York, Arizona and Georgia.

Two of the 16 charges stem from the case of Eleanor Murphy, a Kansas woman who has since died. Authorities say hepatitis C played a contributing role. “You

ultimately gave my mother a death sentence,” Murphy ’s son, Ronnie, told Kwiatkowski.

Murphy said he would have preferred a life sentence for Kwiatkowski and didn’t understand how he had been able to continue working after his repeated firings. “His path and my mother’s path never should have crossed,” he said. The judge noted that while Kwiatkowski’s lack of a criminal record kept his sentence from going even higher, he said that was only because Kwiatkowski’s employers handled his behavior as personnel matters instead of crimes. And Kacavas said his office has begun working with other agencies to draft policy recommendations to prevent future incidents.

“While the conclusion of this prosecution closes the criminal aspect of this case, it has cast a harsh light on the dirty little secret of drug diversion in the medical setting and it has heightened public awareness for the need for tighter reform and regulation in the hiring and management of medical health care workers,” he said. —AP

Fertility doctors aim to lower rate of twin births Couples attempting pregnancy with just a single embryo

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama shakes hands after speaking about the new health care law, Tuesday, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington. The President argued that his health law is preventing insurance discrimination against those with preexisting conditions and is allowing young people to stay on their parents’ coverage until age 26. —AP

Obama opens health plan sales campaign WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has launched a campaign to bombard Americans daily about the benefits of his health care overhaul, pressing them to give the troubled web sign-up portal a fresh try after two months of emergency repairs while trying to blunt noisy Republican calls to delay or scrap the new health insurance system as an unworkable, big government blunder. The president is fighting back after seeing his approval rating fall dramatically, trying anew to sell Americans on the massive health care changes that are designed to provide coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and to end health insurance companies’ practice of denying insurance to people who have a pre-existing medical condition or to cancel coverage when they become ill. While telling critics of the law - some of whom he said were “rooting for it to fail” - that he would work with them to improve the measure, he declared on Tuesday he would not allow the law’s repeal. “If I’ve got to fight another three years to make this law work, that’s what I’ll do,” said Obama, flanked by a group of Americans who reported being helped by the law. And he challenged Republican foes to present their own plan: “Tell us specifically what you’d do differently.” Congressional opponents have not proposed any plan beyond rescinding the law. Obama and his administration have a huge job as they try to overcome the faulty Oct. 1 roll-out of the government website that was to have provided a simple means of signing up for insurance plans offered by private carriers . The site failed miserably and is only now working reasonably well - but not for everyone. The sign-up period runs through March 31, but people need to enroll in a plan by Dec. 23 in order to have coverage in place by Jan. 1.

But experts say there still remain big problems with the website, particularly in getting correct information on those who have signed up for coverage to the companies who will be issuing the insurance policies Obama signed the new law in early 2010, but most of its features were not to have gone into effect until Oct. 1. It carries a mandate that all Americans must obtain health insurance or pay a fine. As an enticement, the

law provides income tax credits to lowincome Americans to subsidize the purchase of insurance plans. Obama had repeatedly sought to sell the new law by saying that Americans who had health insurance plans they liked would be able to keep that coverage. It turned out, however, that millions of Americans began receiving cancellation notices because their current policies did not meet standards set by the new law. That only compounded growing anger as the website was unable to handle the volume of Americans trying to use it.

Obama’s drop in the polls after those problems arose put his presidential legacy in danger even though he has sought to improve the situation in the United States, the only major world economy where citizens do not have health insurance as a universal right guaranteed by the government.

Heavy opposition to the law picked up steam after Republicans regained the majority in the House of Representatives in the 2010 elections. Led by a new crop of small-government, low-tax tea party activists in the House of Representatives, House Republicans have voted more than 40 times to repeal the law.

Those efforts have never even reached consideration in the Senate where Democrats hold the majority. But Democrat solidarity has shown cracks since the bungled Oct. 1 roll-out, especially among Democratic senators facing re -election this year in Republican-dominated states. Republicans oppose the health care law as an intrusion into the personal lives of Americans and contend that government is incapable of running a program that is essential to the lives of US citizens. The party has not, however, offered any plan of its own that would meet the needs of the more than 40 million Americans without insurance who are either priced out of the market or unable to buy coverage because of health problems.

While the sign-up website is still wobbly, the administration reported Monday that about 1 million people used the portal during the first work day after the Dec. 1 deadline, the date the administration had set for unsnarling the deep problems that accompanied the start-up. —AP

GEJIU: This picture taken on October 29, 2013 shows an AIDS sufferer (L) sitting in her room as her son plays nearby in Gejiu, southwest China’s Yunnan province.

UNAIDS estimates that there are 780,000 people living with HIV in China. —AFP

BOSTON: In the five years since the “Octomom” case, big multiple births have gone way down but the twin rate has barely budged. Now fertility experts are pushing a new goal: One. A growing number of couples are attempting pregnancy with just a single embryo, helped by new ways to pick the ones most likely to succeed. New guidelines urge doctors to stress this approach.

Twins aren’t always twice as nice; they have much higher risks of prematurity and serious health problems. Nearly half of all babies born with advanced fertility help are multiple births, new federal numbers show.

Abigail and Ken Ernst of Oldwick, N.J., used the one-embryo approach to conceive Lucy, a daughter born in September. It “just seemed the most normal, the most natural way” to conceive and avoid a high-risk twin pregnancy, the new mom said. Not all couples feel that way, though.

Some can only afford one try with in vitro fertilization, or IVF, so they insist that at least two embryos be used to boost their odds, and view twins as two for the price of one.

Many patients “are telling their physicians ‘I want twins,’” said Barbara Collura, president of Resolve, a support and advocacy group. “We as a society think twins are healthy and always come out great. There’s very little reality” about the increased medical risks for babies and moms, she said.

The 2009 case of a California woman who had octuplets using IVF focused attention on the issue of big multiple births, and the numbers have dropped, except for twins. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent numbers show that 46 percent of IVF babies are multiples- mostly twins -and 37 percent are born premature. By comparison, only 3 percent of babies born without fertility help are twins and about 12 percent are preterm.

It’s mostly an American problem - some European countries that pay for fertility treatments require using one embryo at a time. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine is trying to make it the norm in the US, too. Its guidelines, updated earlier this year, say that for women with reasonable medical odds of success, those under 35 should be offered single embryo transfer and no more than two at a time.

The number rises with age, to two or three embr yos for women up to 40, since older women have more trouble conceiving.

To add heft to the advice, the guidelines say women should be counseled on the risks of multiple births and embryo transfers and that this discussion should be noted in their medical records.

“In 2014, our goal is really to minimize twins,” said Dr. Alan Copperman, medical director of Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York, a Manhattan fertility clinic. “This year I’m talking about two versus one. Several years ago I was talking about three versus two” embryos.

The one-at-a-time idea is catching on. Only 4

OLDWICK: In this photograph taken Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013, Ken Ernst, left, and his wife Abigail Ernst, right, pose for The Associated Press with their 2-month-old daughter, Lucy, in their Oldwick, NJ home. The couple conceived Lucy by using only one embryo through in vitro fertilization. With nearly half of all babies born using advanced fertility help being multiple births, doctors are now urging more couples to attempt pregnancy with just a single embryo. — AP percent of women under 35 used single embryos in 2007 but nearly 12 percent did in 2011. It’s less common among older women, who account for fewer IVF pregnancies, but it is gaining among them, too. “Patients don’t really want multiples. What they want is high delivery rates,” said Dr. Richard T. Scott Jr., scientific director for Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey, which has seven clinics in that state.

Better ways to screen embryos can make success rates for single embryos nearly as good as when two or more are used, he contends. The new techniques include maturing the embryos a few days longer.

That improves viability and allows cells to be sampled for chromosome screening. Embryos can be frozen to allow test results to come back and more precisely time the transfer to the womb.

Taking these steps with single embryos results in fewer miscarriages and tubal pregnancies, healthier babies with fewer genetic defects and lower hospital bills from birth complications, many fertility specialists say.

Multiple studies back this up. In May, doctors from the New Jersey clinics did the kind of research considered a gold standard. They randomly assigned 175 women to have either a single embryo transferred after chromosome screening or two embryos with no screening, as is done in most IVF attempts now. Delivery rates were roughly equivalent - 61 percent with single embryos and 65 percent with doubles.

More than half of the double transfers pro-

duced twins but none of the single ones did.

Babies from double transfers were more likely to be premature; more than one-third spent time in a neonatal intensive care unit versus 8 percent of the others.

Chromosome testing and freezing embryos adds about $4,000 to the roughly $14,000 cost for IVF, “but the pregnancy rates go up dramatically,” and that saves money because fewer IVF attempts are needed, Scott said. Using two or more embryos carries a much higher risk of twins and much higher rates of cerebral palsy and other disorders.

After explaining the risks, “this is the easiest thing in the world to convince patients to do,” Scott said of screening and using single embryos. But Dr. Fady Sharara of the Virginia Center for Reproductive Medicine in Reston, Va., found otherwise. For a study, he offered 48 couples free medications and embryo freezing if they would agree to transfer one at a time instead of two. Eighteen couples refused, including one-quarter of those whose insurance was covering the treatment. Some who refused said they viewed twins as two for the price of one.

“I tell my patients twins are not twice the fun,” Shahara said. “One is hard enough. Two at a time is a killer for some people. Some marriages don’t survive this.”

The New Jersey couple, who had a daughter using a single embryo, has eight more frozen embryos. When it’s time to try again, Abigail Ernst said, “we would do the same thing” and use one at a time. — AP

US woman sues Catholic group over miscarriage rules CHICAGO: A woman twice sent home from a Catholic hospital during a painful miscarriage has sued the church’s hierarchy for imposing standards of care which bar termination of any pregnancy, her lawyers said.

The lawsuit argues that those rules-based on the belief that abortion is murder-stopped her doctors from providing medically appropriate care: terminating the failed pregnancy before it threatened the mother’s health.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishopswhich authored the ethical and religious directives and is the party being sueddeclined to comment on the case.

Tamesha Means was just 18 weeks pregnant when her water broke in December 2010. She rushed to the only hospital in her rural Michigan county-Mercy Health Partners. “ They never offered me any options,” Means said in a statement. “They didn’t tell me what was happening to my body.

Whatever was going on with me, they discussed it amongst themselves. I was just left to wonder, what’s going to happen to me?”

Despite the fact that there was little chance

her fetus could survive, the lawsuit alleges that hospital workers sent her home with no warning of the risk that she could develop a serious infection if the pregnancy were to continue.

She was instead given pain medication and told to come back in a week for her regularly scheduled doctor’s visit. This “misled” the mother of three to believe “the fetus would become viable and she would deliver a healthy baby,” the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union said.

Means rushed back to the hospital early the next morning when she began bleeding and experiencing painful contractions, but was sent home as soon as her feverish temperature went down.

She returned again that night, “in pain, in distress and with signs of an infection” and was once again told there was nothing to be done.

But as the discharge papers were being processed, the feet of the fetus breached her cervix. The baby died less than three hours after it was delivered. Her case came to light

after a public health surveillance project discovered the hospital had not induced labor in “at least five instances where the pregnant woman miscarried before the fetus was viable and was diagnosed with preterm premature rupture of membrane.”

The lawsuit alleges that the hospital administration reviewed the case this year and determined that the decision not to induce labor to terminate the pregnancy was “proper” because the religious and ethical directives prohibit inducing labor prior to fetal viability.

Those standards of care also prohibit termination of ectopic pregnancies-when the egg implants outside the uterus-despite the fact that it can cause death or infertility by rupturing a fallopian tube.

“A pregnant woman who goes to the hospital seeking medical care has the right to expect that the hospital’s first priority will be to provide her appropriate care,” said Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the ACLU. “Medical decisions should not be hamstrung by religious directives.” —AFP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Junk food may increase risk of breast cancer MICHIGAN: Young teen girls who gorge on junk food may be at higher risk of breast cancer, says new research. The increased fat makes them more likely to develop aggressive breast cancer earlier.

And the study claims that it is the amount of fat ingested, not whether you are overweight, which is significant.

Scientists found a strong link between the intake of high fat foods during puberty and the speed at which cancerous cells develop.

A preclinical study found that before tumours appear there are changes in the

breast that include increased cell growth and alterations in immune cells.

The changes continue into adulthood and can lead to precancerous lesionsthe early stage of breast cancer.

It was also found that girls with a high fat intake had a distinct gene signature in their tumours associated with more severe forms of breast cancer.

Professor Sandra Haslam, at Michigan State University, said: “This is very significant because even though the cancers arise from random mutations, the gene signature indicating a basal-like breast

cancer shows the overarching and potent influence this type of diet has in the breast.

“Cancers of this type are more aggressive in nature and typically occur in younger women. “This highlights the significance of our work toward efforts against the disease.”

The research, funded by a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute, could change the way people think about body fat.

Professor Richard Schwartz, also from

Michigan State University, said: “It’s important to note that since our experimental model did not involve any weight gain from the high-fat diet, these findings are relevant to a much broader segment of the population than just those who are overweight.

“This shows the culprit is the fat itself rather than weight gain.”

Scientists believe that fat, in this case saturated animal fat, could potentially still be harmful even if a low fat diet is followed later in life.

Professor Schwartz warned however

that this is still unclear and requires further research.

He added: “Overall, our current research indicates that avoiding excessive dietary fat of this type may help lower one’s risk of breast cancer down the road.

“And since there isn’t any evidence suggesting that avoiding this type of diet is harmful, it just makes sense to do it.” The research is part of a consortium, the national Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program, which studies causes of breast cancer. —AP

Fast-food strikes aim at 100 US cities NEW YORK: Fast-food workers in about 100 cities will walk off the job today, organizers say, which would mark the largest effort yet in a push for higher pay.

The actions are intended to build on a campaign that began about a year ago to call attention to the difficulties of living on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, or about $15,000 a year for a fulltime employee.

The protests are part of a movement by labor unions, Democrats and other worker advocacy groups to raise pay in low-wage sectors. Last month, President Barack Obama said he would back a Senate measure to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.

Protesters are calling for $15 an hour, although many see the figure as a rallying point rather than a near-term possibility. It’s not clear how large the turnout will be at any given location, or whether the walkouts will be enough to disrupt operations.

Similar actions this summer had varying results,

with some restaurants unable to serve customers and others seemingly unaffected. The National Restaurant Association, an industry lobbying group, called the demonstrations a “campaign engineered by national labor groups,” and said the vast majority of participants were union protesters rather than workers.

The group added that past demonstrations “have fallen well short of their purported numbers.”

Kendall Fells, a New York City-based organizer for Fast Food Forward, said demonstrations are planned for 100 cities, in addition to the 100 cities where workers will strike. He said plans started coming together shortly after the one-day actions in about 60 cities this summer.

“They understand they’re not going to win from a one-day strike,” Fells said of workers. Still, organizers face an uphill battle in reshaping an industry that competes aggressively on low prices, a practice that has intensified as companies including McDonald’s Corp., Burger King Worldwide Inc. and

Yum Brands Inc., which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, face growing competition and slow growth in the weak economy.

Fast-food workers are also seen as difficult to unionize, given the industry’s high turnover rates.

But the Service Employees International Union, which represents more than 2 million workers in health care, janitorial and other industries, has been providing organizational and financial support to the push for higher pay over the past year.

Berlin Rosen, a political consulting and public relations firm based in New York City, has also been coordinating communications efforts and helping organizers connect with media outlets.

In the meantime, US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has promised a vote on the wage hike by the end of the year. But the measure is not expected to gain traction in the House, where Republican leaders oppose it. Supporters of wage hikes have been successful at the state and local level. —AP

NEW YORK: In this Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, file photo, protesting fast food workers demonstrate outside a McDonald’s restaurant on New York’s Fifth Avenue, in New York. Fast-food workers in about 100 cities will walk off the job today, to build on a campaign that began about a year ago to call attention to the difficulties of living on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. — AP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! Let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

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Relax, unwind, enjoy this holiday season at Marina Hotel Kuwait

Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

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arina Hotel Kuwait is delighted to offer guests fun-filled experiences this December. The hotel will celebrate the upcoming festivities by offering valuable tailor-made packages which will run from December 1, 2013 to January 11, 2013 excluding December 31, 2013.

Featuring lavish accommodations you and your loved ones can enjoy the charm of genuine Arabian hospitality with a room for two persons which include buffet breakfast and free access to the hotel’s

health club. Throughout the festive season, the hotel’s culinary team will pull out all stops to offer guests unique and diverse cuisines at the hotel’s two renowned restaurants. Enjoy the international buffet breakfast and the relaxed setting of The Six Palms’ restaurant. The Atlantis restaurant which specializes in International and Mediterranean cuisines is the ideal place to be for lunch and dinner. It offers an exceptional choice for the mouth-watering aroma of its fresh menu choices with a mag-

nificent sea view.

Alternatively, guests can spend lazy afternoons while sipping on afternoon tea in the hotel’s lobby. As part of the holiday offerings, the lobby lounge with its comfortable, casual and relaxed setting, offers a range of teas, sandwiches and hot mini canapes creates an ambience that will make guests want to stay all afternoon.

With a multitude of facilities and services, guest can break the daily routine and enjoy the magnificent sea view and the

private beach along with the state of the art Coral Reef Health Club facilities and amenities. In close proximity to Marina Mall which is among the best shopping malls in Kuwait and the Crescent which houses a variety of international restaurants and coffee shops, Marina Hotel is an ideal location for family leisure. Marina Hotel Kuwait offers the perfect venue for the holiday season under the twinkling lights and the cool breeze of the Arabian coast.

Korean movie night Date: December 6, 2013 Time: 16:00-21:10 16:00: Opening Ceremony 16:10-18:21: ‘Masquerade’ 18:30-19:00: Reception 19:00-21:10: ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’ Venue: Laila Gallery Cinescape Movies ‘Masquerade’ (2012, historical drama) ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’ (2013, comedy) Don’t miss the chance to watch the latest Korean movies!

Announcements

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ICS presents ‘Chennai Kings’

onstop hit shows maker Indian Cultural Society Kuwait presents “Chennai Kings” a show that will bring the fragrance of India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in Fusion & Live Concert on Friday, Dec 13, 2013 at 6:30 pm at Al-Arabi Indoor Stadium. World renowned percussionist Sivamani and his team will present foot-thumping fusion music along with noted playback singers Haricharan and Suchitra. They will rock the evening with hit numbers in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam and Kannada. Kuwait’s own talents will be a flavor of entertainment.

SACGC launches STEAM courses for gifted students

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he Sabah Al-Ahmed Center for Giftedness and Creativity (SACGC); a subsidiary of Kuwait Foundation for The Advancement of Science (KFAS), recently launched this school year’s training course of giftedness and creativity classes’ students with participation of 35 students.

Speaking on the occasion, SACGC manager Dr Omar AlBannai stressed the importance of developing gifted students’ skills through proper training courses in various lines of science in order to build and qualify a group of future scientists and inventors. “The gifted students’ classes is the ideal environment to prepare future scientists capable of proudly representing Kuwait in various science and technology conventions”, he stressed pointing out that the first gifted high school students’ batch would graduate in 2020 to carry on their studies in the world’s most prestigious universities.

On his part, SACGC advisor, Dr Abdul Aziz Al-Najjar said that the students would study the STEAM program (Science Technology Engineering, Art and Math), which is an integrated one designed in collaboration with Hanyeong College, South Korea. Al-Najjar also announced that the Smart Brain program that focuses on developing students mathematical skills was still on.

TIES Center - Where cultures meet

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he TIES Center is glad to announce that its Winter 2 Arabic language courses will begin on Sunday January 19 until Wednesday March 5, 2014. We offer classes for all levels, from beginner to advanced. Our classes are specially tailored to meet the needs and requirements of expats living in Kuwait. You still have the chance to join if you are interested. The TIES Arabic classes are intended for all expats who wish to learn Arabic. Whether you want to Learn Arabic for business or basic communication or simply as a hobby, the TIES Center welcomes you. Throughout the course, the students will learn how to read, write and speak Arabic in a friendly, relaxed and welcoming environment.

TIES Arabic program highlights: Lessons are step by step - ranging from basic to advanced level; Lessons build confidence for speaking, reading, and writing Arabic; Lessons combine language learning with cultural insights; Lessons are specially tailored for expats living in Kuwait. It is an opportunity to interact with other Westerners, who are taking the courses. For more information, please e-mail: Hassan@tiescenter.net .”

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TEC training course for employees

bout 12 Touristic Enterprises Company employees underwent a training course on neuro-linguistic programming, held in cooperation with the United Institute for Investment and Training. The course was organized at the TEC building and concluded on November 21, 2013.

Bhavanites win St Berchmans’ Championship Trophy

ndian Educational School (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan), Kuwait, for the second consecutive time has been honoured with the coveted St Berchmans’ Extempore Speech Championship on November 29, 2013. The award ceremony held in Carmel School, Khaitan was graced by the presence and magnetizing eloquence of the learned and most renowned personality Dr Raju Narayana Swamy, IAS. It was indeed a moment of great pride to behold the victorious orators of Bhavans receiving their individual trophies and certificates from the blessed orator Dr Raju Narayana Swamy.

Principal T Premkumar with his maxim, “If you believe,

you achieve” expressed his happiness and contentment in having achieved the title of the ‘legitimate speaker’, the honour that has been bestowed on him by the prodigies of Bhavans. True to their Principal’s belief, Bhavanites with their envious scores amassed by their magic eloquence embraced the championship trophy once again making their alma mater extremely proud of their amazing achievement. Bhavans’s wunderkinds Abhinaya Srinivasan, Ketan Maheswari, Rajsee Anant and D R Pratyusha, Principal, T Premkumar and the teachers were present on the occasion. This incredible achievement stands testimony to the marvelous maxim “If we believe, we achieve.”

W H AT ’ S O N

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

Embassy Information

GUST MBA hosts KOC engineer for presentation on Process Approach

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he Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) MBA Program hosted Hasnain Haider from the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) in a presentation on Process Approach. The lecture covered the understanding of the concepts, intent and the application of the “process approach” to the ISO 9000 family of Quality Management System standards. The approach may also be used to apply the process approach to any management system regardless the type or the size of organization.

This includes but is not limited to management systems for: l Environment (ISO 14000 family) l Occupational Health and Safety l Business Risk l Social Responsibility Eng. Haider also emphasized the promotion of a consistent approach to the description of processes and use of process related terminology. The purpose of the process approach is to enhance an organization’s effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its defined objectives. In relation to ISO 9001:2008 this means enhancing customer satisfaction by meeting customer requirements. The seminar concluded with a Q&A session.

EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Embassy of Australia has announced that Kuwait citizens can apply for and receive visit visas in 10 working days through www.immi.gov.au.

All other processing of visas and Immigration matters are handled by the Australian Visa Application Centre located in Al Banwan Building, 4B, 1st Floor, Al Qibla Area, Ali Al Salem Street, Kuwait City. Visit. www.vfs-au-gcc.com for more info. The Embassy of Australia does not have a visa or immigration department.

All processing of visas and immigration matters is conducted by the Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: Info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com ( VIS), immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au ( Visa Office), Tel: +971 4 205 5900 ( VFS), Fax: + 971 4 355 0708 ( Visa Office). Notary and passport services are available by appointment. Appointments can be made by calling the Embassy on 22322422. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbiim-enquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah.

Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. nnnnnnn

Yet another feather in FAIPS’ cap

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he Indian School of Bahrain has been successfully organizing an International Quiz from the year 2011.

The third edition of the ISB Quiz was conducted on November 27, 2013. Schools from various GCC countries participated. Out of eighteen teams that competed for this prestigious event, only six teams qualified for the mega finals. The team representing FAIPS (Kuwait) being one.

The participants were Rohan Tiwari of class XI, Vijay Krishnan of class IX and Robin Roy Cherian of class VIII The quiz master of this event was the renowned quizzer and TV personality Dr Abraham Joseph. The teams had to undergo rigorous quizzing which lasted for four hours. The competition was intense and finally ended in a nail biting finish.

FAIPS secured the third position among 21 schools and the team members received prize money of $500.

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Indian Charge d’Affaires inaugurates Kala Kuwait prize ceremony

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iram 2013 children’s day painting competition distribution of prizes was held at Indian Community School, Khaitan on Friday, November 29.

Shubashis Goldar, Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of India, Kuwait inaugurated the function. Kala (Art) Kuwait President K Hassan Koya chaired the function and General Secretary Mukesh V.P welcomed the gathering. Anoop John, Manager, Wataniya Sales Operations, Pancily Varkey, Country Head UAE Exchange, Mohammed Harees, Resident Director, Lulu Hyper Market, Vargheese Puthukkulangara, Director, Kerala Pravasi Welfare Board, Lisy Kuriakose, poet, felicitated the function and Jaisaon Joseph, K Sadik, C Bhaskaran, Artist Shammy John, Artist Sasikrishnan and Renuka Bhaskaran also were present in the dais and distributed prizes to the winners of each group. The program reporting was done by Samkutty Thomas, General Convener Niram-2013 and Judging Assessment was briefed by Artist Sasikrishnan. Kala (Art) Kuwait Treasurer K Sadik congratulated the winners and thanked the guests and audience.

It is noteworthy that a total of 2,415 students from 20 Indian schools in Kuwait had entered the competition classified as 5 groups. Accordingly, 1st Prize to each group (5), 2nd Prize to 6, 3rd prize to 9, Merit Prize to 55 and 172 consolation prizes (a total of 247 prizes) were distributed. K Aboobakkar, Johney Kalamachal, A Mohanan, Mohanan V Shyjith, Rakesh, Shamsudeen, Sunil Kumar, Aneesh Varghese, Vibin Kalabhavan, Anil Varghese, Suresh, Sasi and Kanakaraj were active as volunteers to ensure the smooth and successful holding of the program.

Compeering was done by Jeeves Erinjery and Noura Nazeem.

The list of winners is as follows: Group-A: 1st Prize- Mridula Pallissery Ravindran, 1st Std, IES-Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Abbassiya, IInd Prize- Anita Treesa Benny, 1st Std, Al-Wataniya English Private School (DPS), Fahaheel, IIIrd Prize- Megha Elanbilakkat R, 1st Std, IES-Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Abbassiya & Albert Shibu George, 1st Std Indian English Academy (Donbosco), Salmiya

Group-B: Ist Prize- Joanne Rebecca Vargheses, 3rd Std, Carmel School, IInd Prize- Nova Catherine Shygen, 3rd Std, Gulf Indian School, Fahaheel, IIIrd Prize- Abijith Biju Kumaran, 4th Std, IES-Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Abbassiya & Naureen Mushtaq, 4th Std, Indian Community School, Khaitan.

Group-C: 1st Prize- Jackson Painadath, 8th Std, United Indian School, Abbassiya.

IInd Prize- Prateek Pravanjan, 8th Std, AlWataniya Indian Private School (DPS), Fahaheel, IIIrd Prize- Santhra K Dineshkumar, 6th Std., Gulf Indian School, Fahaheel, & Nithin Sivan Pillai, 8th Std, IESBharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Abbassiya.

Group-D: 1st Prize- Keerthiga Nagarajan, 10th Std, IES-Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Abbassiya, IInd Prize- Riya Mercy Jacob, 9th Std., Indian Community School, Khaitan, IIIrd Prize- Deeksha Sareen, 11th Std, Al-Wataniya English Private School

EMBASSY OF GREECE The Embassy of Greece in Kuwait has the pleasure to announce that visa applications must be submitted to Schengen Visa Application Centre (VFS office) located at 12th floor, Al-Naser Tower, Fahad Al-Salem Street, Al-Qibla area, Kuwait City, (Parking at Souk Watia). For information please call 22281046 from 08:30 to 17:00 (Sunday to Thursday).

Working hours: Submission from 08:30 to 15:30. Passport collection from 16:00 to 17:00. For visa applications please visit the following website www.mfa.gr/kuwait.

(DPS), Fahaheel & Arjun Narayanan Kutty, 11th Std. Indian Community School, Sr. Salmiya.

Clay Sculpture: 1st Prize- Ruchitra Dinesh., 12th Std., Indian Community School, Sr. Salmiya. IInd Prize - Haseeb Abdulla, 8th Std, Al-Wataniya English Private School (DPS), Fahaheel & Aadithya S. Krishnan, 8th Std., United Indian School, Abbassiya, IIIrd Prize- Ayesha Dewage, 11th Std, Integrated Indian School.

Open Canvas (for parents & guests): Ist Prize- Ravindran Pallissery, IInd Prize - Mr. Lalu Jacob, IIIrd Prize- Mrs. Anjula Sharma.

Merit Prize: Group-A: Ethaw Vinu Barghese, Jaedyn Francis Fernandes, Raina Ann Shaju, Aaron Varghese James, Amir Zubaid, Fida Lahir, Mahitha Jarradi, Thomas V John, Tarini Shetty, Maarwaan Ahmed, Ebin Babu Olakkankil. Group-B: Arathi Sasidharan, Aseel Kamal Abdullah Omar,

Rachna Venkatesh, Neil Rdward D’Souza, Avanthika Biju Kumar, Fidaa Salim, Geethika Jayakumar, Jewel George Jomon, Lakshminanda Madhusoodhanan, Lensar Saji Pattamana, Meba Maria Snil, Nidhi Murali, Shyam Suresan, Fathimathul Afra, Savio Saji George, Rohan, Ananthapadmanabhan, Anjali S Kumar, Mahitha Nair, Naveen Francis Shaji. GroupC: Fedora Carol Menezes, David Noronha, Gayathri Satheesh Kumar, Anusree Dinesan, Justin Ignatius Mascarenhas, Meghna Pallissery Ravindran, Esha Jish, Varun Vineeth, Fleno Thankachan, Mohamed RIfqi, Emad Vddin, Kiran Prasad K, Aarathi Mohandas, Carol Mary Thomas, Elena Elsa George. Group-D: Hanan Abdulla, Vasanthi Hariharan, Jeslin Rlizabeth, Juliana, Krupa Sara John, Sreerag Mahadevan Cheeroth, Flency Thankachan, Soonam Shaji. Clay Sculpture: Tasneem Banu Kaliulla.

EMBASSY OF US The US Embassy in Kuwait has new procedures for obtaining appointments and picking up passports after visa issuance. Beginning August 9, 2013, we now provide an online visa appointment system, live call center, and in-person pick-up facilities in Kuwait.

Please monitor our website and social media for additional information. This new system offers more flexibility for travelers to the US and to meet the increase in demand for visa appointments.

The general application steps on the new visa appointment system are: 1. Go to www.ustraveldocs.com/kw (if this is the first time on ustraveldocs.com, you will need to create a profile to login).

2. Please complete your DS-160 Online Visa Application which is available at ceac.state.gov/genNIV. 3. Please print and take your deposit slip to any Burgan Bank location to pay your visa application fee.

4. Schedule an appointment for your visa interview online at www.ustraveldocs.com/kw or by phone through the Call Center (at +965-2227-1673).

5. If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please do so 24 hours beforehand, as a courtesy to other applicants. For more information, please visit the US Embassy website - kuwait.usembassy.gov - as it is the best source of information regarding these changes. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF VATICAN The Apostolic Nunciature Embassy of the Holy See, Vatican in Kuwait has moved to a new location in Kuwait City. Please find below the new address: Yarmouk, Block 1, Street 2, Villa No: 1. P.O.Box 29724, Safat 13158, Kuwait.

Tel: 965 25337767, Fax: 965 25342066. Email: nuntiuskuwait@gmail.com.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

TV PROGRAMS 00:00 00:45 01:15 01:45 02:15 03:00 03:55 04:25 05:00 05:15 05:20 05:40 05:45 06:10 06:15 06:30 06:35 06:55 07:00 07:25 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:15 09:45 10:15 11:05 12:00 12:30 13:15 13:40 14:10 14:40 15:30 16:25 17:10 17:40 18:10 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:50 21:45 22:10 22:40 23:30

The Weakest Link Absolutely Fabulous Eastenders Doctors Alan Carr: Chatty Man Luther Absolutely Fabulous One Foot In The Grave Nina And The Neurons Poetry Pie Mr Bloom’s Nursery Little Human Planet Teletubbies Buzz & Tell Nina And The Neurons Poetry Pie Mr Bloom’s Nursery Little Human Planet Teletubbies Buzz & Tell One Foot In The Grave Come Fly With Me The Weakest Link Eastenders Doctors Hustle The Invisible Leopard One Foot In The Grave The Weakest Link Come Fly With Me Eastenders Doctors Hustle The Invisible Leopard The Weakest Link Eastenders Doctors Hustle Keeping Up Appearances The Office Luther Money The Cafe Hebburn Young, Foreign & Over Here Keeping Up Appearances

00:00 Cash In The Attic 00:45 DIY SOS: The Big Build 01:40 Come Dine With Me 02:30 Masterchef: The Professionals 03:15 Celebrity Fantasy Homes 04:05 Eating With The Enemy 04:55 Cash In The Attic 05:40 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 06:05 Bargain Hunt 06:50 Celebrity Fantasy Homes 07:35 Chef At Home 08:00 Bargain Hunt 08:45 DIY SOS: The Big Build 09:35 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 10:05 Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking 10:30 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 11:20 Come Dine With Me 12:10 Masterchef: The Professionals 12:55 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 13:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 14:15 Antiques Roadshow 15:05 Holmes On Homes 15:55 Holmes On Homes 16:50 Bargain Hunt 17:35 Cash In The Attic 18:20 Antiques Roadshow 19:15 Homes Under The Hammer 20:10 The Restaurant Inspector 21:00 Planet Cake 21:30 Come Dine With Me 22:20 Antiques Roadshow

00:30 01:20 02:10 03:00 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:05

You Have Been Warned Treehouse Masters Mythbusters Mythbusters Border Security Storage Hunters Flip Men How Do They Do It?

05:30 06:00 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 10:45 11:10 11:35 12:25 13:15 14:05 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 20:45 21:10 21:35 22:00 22:50 23:40

How It’s Made American Guns Mythbusters Finding Bigfoot Fast N’ Loud Border Security Storage Hunters Flip Men How Do They Do It? How It’s Made You Have Been Warned Treehouse Masters Mythbusters Border Security Storage Hunters Flip Men World’s Top 5 Fast N’ Loud Ultimate Survival Dirty Jobs Mythbusters American Guns Storage Hunters Flip Men How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Sons Of Guns Amish Mafia Inside The Gangsters’ Code

00:40 Prank Science 01:30 Stunt Junkies 02:00 Gadget Show - World Tour 02:25 How Tech Works 02:50 Prophets Of Science Fiction 03:45 The Science Of Star Wars 04:35 Smash Lab 05:25 How The Universe Works 06:15 Gadget Show - World Tour 06:40 How Tech Works 07:05 X-Machines 08:00 Junkyard Wars 08:50 Rocket City Rednecks 09:15 Rocket City Rednecks 09:40 Gadget Show - World Tour 10:05 How Tech Works 10:30 Human Body: Ultimate Machine 11:25 X-Machines 12:20 Smash Lab 13:10 How The Universe Works 14:00 The Science Of Star Wars 14:50 Stunt Junkies 15:20 Gadget Show - World Tour 15:45 How Tech Works 16:10 Prophets Of Science Fiction 17:00 Human Body: Ultimate Machine 17:55 Man-Made Marvels China 18:45 Smash Lab 19:35 How The Universe Works 20:30 Game Changers 20:55 Game Changers 21:20 Bang Goes The Theory 21:45 Bang Goes The Theory 22:10 Gadget Show - World Tour 22:35 How Tech Works 23:00 Game Changers 23:25 Game Changers 23:50 Bang Goes The Theory

00:00 00:20 00:45 01:05 01:30 01:50 02:15 02:35 03:00 03:20 03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20

The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Austin And Ally Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Gravity Falls My Babysitter’s A Vampire Sofia The First

08:45 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:25 11:50 12:15 12:35 13:00 13:25 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:10 17:00 17:20 17:45 18:10 18:30 18:55 19:20 20:05 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:10 23:35

Doc McStuffins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Shake It Up Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm Dog With A Blog Jessie Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm Austin And Ally Shake It Up That’s So Raven Jessie Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog That’s So Raven Gravity Falls Jessie Violetta A.N.T. Farm Austin And Ally Gravity Falls Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog Violetta Jessie My Babysitter’s A Vampire Good Luck Charlie Gravity Falls Shake It Up Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place

13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 16:00 16:30 19:00 21:00 22:15 22:45

European Le Mans Series Porsche GT 3 Cup Challenge Porsche GT 3 Cup Challenge Mass Participation UK Mass Participation UK Prizefighter NHL UFC Unleashed Total Rugby Live Amlin Challenge Cup

00:00 00:30 01:00 Rides 02:00 02:30 03:00 04:00 04:30 05:00 06:00 06:30

Airport 24/7: Miami Airport 24/7: Miami World’s Greatest Motorcycle Xtreme Waterparks Xtreme Waterparks Off Limits Baggage Battles Baggage Battles Man vs World Airport 24/7: Miami Airport 24/7: Miami

07:00 Rides 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 Rides 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00

World’s Greatest Motorcycle Globe Trekker Descending Airport 24/7: Miami Airport 24/7: Miami World’s Greatest Motorcycle Bert The Conqueror Trip Flip The Food Truck The Food Truck Bizarre Foods America International House Hunters International House Hunters International House Hunters International House Hunters Hotel Impossible Luxury Uncovered Destination Weddings The Food Truck The Food Truck Bizarre Foods America International House Hunters International House Hunters Airport 24/7: Miami Airport 24/7: Miami Monumental Mysteries

A minute with the Pixies, the ‘psychotic Beatles’, on fame, comebacks and break-ups

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00:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:30 Heat Seekers 01:55 Meat & Potatoes 02:20 Outrageous Food 02:45 Spicy Christmas With Thomasina Miers 03:10 Jeni Barnett’s Christmas Hamper 03:35 Unwrapped 04:25 Food Wars 04:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 05:15 United Tastes Of America 05:40 Chopped 06:30 Iron Chef America 07:10 Food Network Challenge 08:00 Unwrapped 08:25 Unwrapped 08:50 United Tastes Of America 09:15 Unique Sweets 09:40 Kid In A Candy Store 10:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 10:30 Food Network Challenge 11:20 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 11:45 Cooking Christmas With Matt And Lisa 12:10 Cooking For Real 12:35 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 13:00 Reza’s African Kitchen 13:25 Charly’s Cake Angels 13:50 Siba’s Table 14:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 15:05 Guy’s Big Bite 15:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 15:55 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 16:20 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 16:45 Chopped 17:30 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:00 Cooking Christmas With Matt And Lisa 18:25 Cooking For Real 18:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:40 Siba’s Table 20:05 Charly’s Cake Angels 20:30 Chopped 21:20 Cooking Christmas With Matt And Lisa 21:45 Cooking For Real

SULTANES DEL SUR ON OSN MOVIES ACTION

CARNAGE ON OSN MOVIES HD 22:10 Iron Chef America 23:00 Iron Chef America Special 23:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Special

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The New Normal 02:00 The Big C 02:30 Legit 03:00 How I Met Your Mother 03:30 Ben And Kate 04:00 The Simpsons 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 The War At Home 06:00 All Of Us 06:30 Friends 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 The Simpsons 08:30 The War At Home 09:00 How I Met Your Mother 09:30 Family Tools 10:00 Happy Endings 10:30 Friends 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 All Of Us 12:30 The Simpsons 13:00 The War At Home 13:30 Friends 14:00 Ben And Kate 14:30 Family Tools 15:00 Happy Endings 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 All Of Us 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 How I Met Your Mother 18:30 Ben And Kate 19:00 Family Tools 19:30 Happy Endings 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The New Normal 22:30 The Big C 23:00 Legit 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00 23:00

Burn Notice Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hannibal Rescue Me Perception Franklin & Bash Burn Notice Fairly Legal Criminal Minds Perception Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Franklin & Bash Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Criminal Minds Burn Notice Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Criminal Minds Franklin & Bash The X Factor U.S. Top Gear (US) Rescue Me

00:00 03:00 04:00 07:30 09:00 10:30 12:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00

Covert Affairs Scandal The Americans Coronation Street C.S.I. New York Coronation Street C.S.I. New York Covert Affairs Live Good Morning America C.S.I. New York Covert Affairs Castle C.S.I. New York

21:00 Covert Affairs 22:00 The Americans 23:00 Scandal

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 Mine 12:00 14:00 15:45 Mine 17:30 20:00 22:00

Fertile Ground London Boulevard Sultanes Del Sur The Stool Pigeon Meteor Storm True Justice: Vengeance Is The Speed Of Thought Killer Mountain True Justice: Vengeance Is The Da Vinci Code Killer Mountain Meskada

00:00 London Boulevard-18 02:00 Sultanes Del Sur-PG15 04:00 The Stool Pigeon-PG15 06:00 Meteor Storm-PG15 08:00 True Justice: Vengeance Is Mine-PG15 10:00 The Speed Of Thought-PG15 12:00 Killer Mountain-PG15 13:45 True Justice: Vengeance Is Mine-PG15 15:30 The Da Vinci Code-PG15 18:00 Killer Mountain-PG15 20:00 Meskada-PG15 22:00 Mad Max-18

00:00 02:00 04:00 05:45 08:00 10:15 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Slums Of Beverly Hills-18 Sightseers-18 The Great Outdoors-PG15 The Producers-PG15 Mrs. Doubtfire-PG A Heartbeat Away-PG15 The Great Outdoors-PG15 A Thousand Words-PG15 A Heartbeat Away-PG15 The Animal-PG15 Rushmore-PG15 Slums Of Beverly Hills-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:15 09:00 10:45 13:00 14:45 17:30 19:15 21:00 23:15

A Woman-PG15 The First Grader-PG15 Dreamgirls-PG15 Dirty Teacher-PG15 A Woman-PG15 World Trade Center-PG15 The Forger-PG15 Neverland-PG The Iron Lady-PG15 Wrecked-PG15 Melancholia-18 Liars All-18

01:00 L.A I Hate You-18 03:00 Extremities-18 05:00 Krach-18 07:00 Stealing Bess-PG15 09:00 No Surrender-PG15 11:00 Dolphin Tale-PG 13:00 Encounter With DangerPG15 15:00 Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid-PG 17:00 Dolphin Tale-PG 19:00 Neds-PG15 21:00 The End Of The Affair-18 23:00 Meeting Evil-18

01:15 Small Apartments-18 03:00 Planet Ocean-PG15 05:00 Pop Star-PG15 07:00 You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger-PG15 09:00 Carnage-PG15

11:00 Underground: The Julian Assange Story-PG15 13:00 Prosecuting Casey AnthonyPG15 15:00 Seeking Justice-PG15 17:00 Carnage-PG15 18:45 J. Edgar-18 21:00 Zero Dark Thirty-18 23:45 Ted-18

01:00 Pacific Pirates 02:30 Winx 04:15 Mandie And The Secret Tunnel 06:00 The Little Rascals 08:00 The Legend Of Sasquatch 10:00 Problem Child 2 11:30 Snowmen 13:00 Mandie And The Secret Tunnel 14:45 Supertramps 16:00 Shrek The Third 18:00 Problem Child 2 20:00 Jingle All The Way 22:00 Supertramps 23:30 Kong Return To The Jungle

00:00 Dungeons & Dragons: The Book Of Vile Darkness-18 02:00 Interview With A HitmanPG15 04:00 George Harrison: Living In The Material World-PG15 08:00 From Prada To Nada-PG15 10:00 Nacho Libre-PG 12:00 Thunderstruck-PG 14:00 Hit List-PG15 16:00 From Prada To Nada-PG15 18:00 Here Comes The Boom-PG15 20:00 Age Of Heroes-PG15 22:00 The Samaritan-18

02:00 03:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 16:00 21:00 21:30 22:00

Trans World Sport Live Cricket Test Match Total Rugby Futbol Mundial Live Dubai Ladies Masters Live Snooker Total Rugby Futbol Mundial Live Snooker

00:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 00:30 Live Cricket Test Match 08:30 International Rugby Union 10:30 PGA European Tour Weekly 11:00 Live NEDBANK Golf Challenge 17:30 Trans World Sports 18:30 NFL Gameday 19:00 PGA European Tour 23:30 WWE NXT

02:00 02:30 06:30 07:00 08:00 12:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 21:00 22:00 22:30 23:00

European Tour Weekly Snooker UK Championship Inside The PGA Tour Golfing World Live PGA European Tour Snooker UK Championship Asian Golf Tour Futbol Mundial Pool Mosconi Cup Trans World Sport European Tour Weekly Inside The PGA Tour Live PGA Tour

01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 12:00

NHL Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing European Le Mans Series Adventure Sports Adventure Sports Snooker UK Championship Motor Sports 2013

eloved of David Bowie and a generation of influential UK and US guitar bands, American alt-rock combo the Pixies have sold out across Europe as they tour with new music for the first time in over 20 years. There is talk of a joint tour with Bowie, 66, whose own new album has made waves in the past year for the first time since his 70s and 80s heyday, and the band expect to follow this year’s four-song EP-1 with more new releases.

The Ziggy Stardust creator has called the Pixies the “psychotic Beatles” and rates their music as “just about the most compelling of the entire 80s”. If lacking some of the band’s youthful, surf-punk folly, the new songs have plenty of drive and the trademark shifts from quiet and melodic to loud and screamy that influenced Nirvana, Sonic Youth and others in the late 1980s. The cosmic sounds of “Andro Queen” connect with Bowie’s space-themed compositions.

The band got its start in Boston and had a string of hits in “Hey”, “Debaser”, “Where is my Mind” and “Monkey Gone to Heaven” before breaking up in 1993. They reunited in 2004 only to have bass player Kim Deal quit in June for a second time without much explanation, leaving the three other Pixies “shell-shocked”.

Frontman Black Francis, 48, lead guitar player Joey Santiago, 48, and drummer David Lovering, 51, spoke with Reuters in Lisbon during their global tour about regrets over their first breakup, Deal’s possible return, and the future.

Q: Your new song “Indie Cindy” appears to refer to your new audience, you’re begging it to “carry me” like you’re not sure.

Black Francis: It’s about the audience we’re trying to woo, it is personified in the song. There’s doubt, that’s because we haven’t made a record in 20 years. And here we are going, “Hey, what do you think, do I still got it or do I still got it?”

Q: And do they like it?

BF: Our shows are sold out, and they cheer a lot.

Q: Your audience now - is it young, or nostalgia-driven?

BF: There’s at least a third of the audience that’s really young, another third is a bit older and another third, they’re, like, they got no business being in a rock concert! (all laugh) BF: But I think that all such ageism will die with the death of rock music as we know it. With their iPhones and devices, people now have access to all this music, images, its history, facts and factoids and they can see through age groups, fashion, sexiness - all that’s being defined in a certain limited way.

Q: You have a much greater fan base in Europe than in the United States. Why is that?

Lovering: I’d say Europeans have better taste.

Santiago: Europeans are more eclectic, I guess.

BF: Rock music is culturally much more on a pedestal in Europe than in the United States. Here rock’n’roll initially was an outsider, like jazz before it. So it was put up in a place of reverence, art. In America it’s not art, it’s just part of the fabric of everything. Jazz survived so long thanks to Europe.

Q: Do you regret your first breakup, and could you have done anything to avoid it?

BF: I regret it, but maybe something else would have caused it eventually. But I wish that the manager or someone at the record company would have been a little more tuned in to the dynamics of a young band being on the road and making records, someone to advise a different schedule, or maybe say “Hey, you guys are due for vacation like right about now” or “Hey, you all do your solo albums”... We never really got that sort of common sense advice, or at least I was too stoned to hear it.

Lovering: I guess we’re lucky enough, because of that (breakup) we got back together and it’s all working out nicely.

Q: But now Deal has left. Is it still Pixies without her?

Santiago: Yeah it’s Pixies, that’s one against three.

Q: Do you miss her presence in the band?

BF: We probably most miss her voice, a lot. I think that was one thing about her that was really consistent.

Q: Do you think she will return, is that door still open?

BF: She could come down these stairs now, you never know.

Q: Bowie said you “changed the format for delivering harder rock”, Kurt Cobain paid you the ultimate compliment by ripping you off. In your own words, what’s your contribution to rock?

Santiago: Being original, influencing Nirvana so they could rip a song. I’ll admit it - if Kurt Cobain fessed up to it, fuck it, I’ll agree with it, you ripped us off.

Q: Do you wish you were more famous, richer?

BF: I think that we’re quite happy with our status and our position in the music business, we’re sold out wherever we go.

Q: What’s the Pixies song you enjoy playing the most?

BF: Lately I really like playing “Vamos”. We don’t really know how long it’s gonna go for, there’s an element of chance to it and at the same time it’s really minimalist.

Santiago: Yeah, that, and I was gonna say “Dead” too.

Q: Do you imagine going back to solo gigs?

BF: The question is do I want to perform in these big venues or do I wanna play the rinky-dink night club? You know what I mean.

Q: You said you want to work with Bowie as a backup band. Is it going to happen, is it some special sign of respect?

BF: It’s David Bowie! Come on! We could do that.

Bowie, the Pixies, together at last! ... I think that Dylan and the (Grateful) Dead tour kind of served them both very well. — Reuters

Classifieds THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

Kuwait

CHANGE OF NAME

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (05/12/2013 TO 11/12/2013)

SHARQIA-1 DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

SHARQIA-2 THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG)

12:30 PM 3:15 PM 5:15 PM 8:00 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-3 SAVING SANTA (DIG) SAVING SANTA (DIG) SAVING SANTA (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG)

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

MUHALAB-1 THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM

MUHALAB-2 CARRIE (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM

MUHALAB-3 SAVING SANTA (DIG-3D) SAVING SANTA (DIG-3D) SAVING SANTA (DIG-3D) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:15 PM 5:00 PM 6:45 PM 9:30 PM

FANAR-1 DELIVERY MAN (DIG) 1911 (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) 1911 (DIG) 1911 (DIG)

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

FANAR-2 CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

FANAR-3 THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) WADJDA (DIG) (Arabic) WADJDA (DIG) (Arabic) R... RAJKUMAR (DIG) (Hindi) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-4 THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) SAVING SANTA (DIG-3D) SAVING SANTA (DIG-3D)

1:00 PM 3:45 PM 5:30 PM

SAVING SANTA (DIG-3D) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG)

7:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

FANAR-5 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG)

1:45 PM 4:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:45 AM

MARINA-1 DELIVERY MAN (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG)

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-2 SAVING SANTA (DIG) SAVING SANTA (DIG) SAVING SANTA (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

MARINA-3 THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:45 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:15 AM

AVENUES-1 JACKIE CHAN, BINGBING LI 1911 (DIG) 1911 (DIG) 1911 (DIG) 1911 (DIG) 1911 (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-2 DELIVERY MAN (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

AVENUES-3 THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG)

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

360º- 1 CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG)

2:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

360º- 2 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:45 PM 5:45 PM 8:45 PM 11:45 PM

360º- 3 DELIVERY MAN (DIG)

1:45 PM

DELIVERY MAN DELIVERY MAN DELIVERY MAN DELIVERY MAN DELIVERY MAN

(DIG) (DIG) (DIG) (DIG) (DIG)

4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

AL-KOUT.1 SAVING SANTA (DIG-3D) SAVING SANTA (DIG-3D) SAVING SANTA (DIG-3D) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG)

12:45 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

AL-KOUT.2 THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) WADJDA (DIG) (Arabic) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) WADJDA (DIG) (Arabic) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.3 1911 (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) 1911 (DIG) 1911 (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.4 DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG)

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

BAIRAQ-1 SAVING SANTA (DIG) SAVING SANTA (DIG) SAVING SANTA (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG)

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:45 AM

BAIRAQ-2 DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) PARKLAND (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG)

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 11:45 PM

BAIRAQ-3 DELIVERY MAN (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG) DELIVERY MAN (DIG) THE FROZEN GROUND (DIG)

1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

PLAZA R... RAJKUMAR (DIG) (Hindi) CARRIE (DIG) DEVIL’S PASS (DIG)

5:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM

LAILA SAVING SANTA (DIG) THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE (DIG) CARRIE (DIG) 6th Dec 2013 Laila Cinema is booked for Festival

6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:45 PM Korean Film

Saravanan Subramaniyan S/o Subramaniyan holder of Indian Passport No. G9950267 born on 2nd March 1976 (native district: Thiruvarur), residing at No. 112/219, Mariamman Kovil street, Maruthangavali, Muthupet. Thiruvarur District, shall henceforth be known as Sameer Mohamed. (C 4593) 5-12-2013 FOR SALE Pajero for sale, model 1996, color red, engine good condition, used by a lady. Contact: 97277139.

2003 Nissan Pathfinder in good condition - six cylinder (3.5 engine). Call: 97277135 4-12-2013 Toyota Camry 2003, white color, full options, KD 1550.

Tel: 50994848. (C 4591) 3-12-2013 Toyota Camry model 2013 white color, GLX full option, km 16,000, sunroof, alloy rim fog lamp, rear bumper, sensor + camera, wooden interior, cruise control, etc.

Cash price KD 5,450. Tel: 66507741. (C 4590) ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available one room in 2 bedroom flat, near Indian/Pakistani school in Farwaniya for working lady.

Rent KD 90. Please contact: 66047733. (C 4589) 2-12-2013

112 THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is

1889988

SITUATION WANTED Indian looking for job as computer eng & Asset.

Networking eng, certification: CCNA, ASP-Net, experience three years in Kuwait, visa 18, transferable. Email: mahesh88qv@gmail.com.

(C 4592) 3-12-2013

Prayer timings

Fajr: Shorook Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

05:03 06:27 11:38 14:31 16:49 18:11

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines BBC JAI KLM THY JZR JZR QTR SAI ETH GFA THY UAE ETD JAI MSR QTR MSC FDB THY DHX QTR QTR FDB BAW KAC JZR JZR IRA FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE GBG ABY QTR ETD IRA FDB IZG GFA MSC MSC JZR MEA SYR TBZ SVA JZR JZR UAE MSR KAC MSR KNE KNE FDB QTR

Arrival Flights on Thursday 5/12/2013 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 574 MUMBAI 411 AMSTERDAM 772 ISTANBUL 539 CAIRO 267 BEIRUT 1084 DOHA 441 LAHORE 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 764 SABIHA 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 576 COCHIN 612 CAIRO 1076 DOHA 401 ALEXANDRIA 67 DUBAI 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 8524 DOHA 8650 DOHA 69 DUBAI 157 LONDON 412 MANILA 529 ASYUT 503 LUXOR 617 AHWAZ 53 DUBAI 206 ISLAMABAD 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 332 TRIVANDRUM 362 COLOMBO 855 DUBAI 945 YEREVAN 125 SHARJAH 1070 DOHA 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 605 ISFAHAN 55 DUBAI 4161 MASHAD 213 BAHRAIN 403 ASYUT 405 SOHAG 165 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 341 DAMASCUS 5483 MASHAD 9401 JEDDAH 241 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 561 SOHAG 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 382 DELHI 579 SOHAG 480 TAIF 474 JEDDAH 57 DUBAI 1078 DOHA

Time 0:05 0:10 0:30 0:45 0:40 0:40 0:55 1:30 1:45 2:10 2:15 2:35 2:45 2:50 3:10 3:45 3:45 4:20 5:35 5:40 5:45 5:45 5:50 6:40 6:45 6:20 5:50 7:50 7:50 7:40 7:55 8:10 8:15 8:45 8:40 9:00 9:00 9:10 9:20 9:30 9:40 10:35 10:40 11:15 11:20 11:30 11:55 12:30 12:35 12:25 12:45 12:55 12:50 13:00 13:05 13:05 13:15 13:35 13:50 13:55

KAC SVA KNE JZR KAC KAC GFA KNE NIA JZR OMA KAC UAE QTR ETD RJA SVA ABY GFA JZR JZR JZR UAL JZR QTR FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC GFA KAC KAC OMA TAR FDB MSR JAI AXB ABY DLH JZR ALK MEA RAB ETD UAE GFA QTR KLM JAI AIC FDB SYR JZR UAL PIA JZR

546 500 472 257 562 788 221 470 251 535 645 118 857 1072 303 640 510 127 215 777 787 135 982 177 1080 63 502 542 284 786 614 774 674 176 217 104 618 647 328 61 618 572 393 129 634 189 229 402 300 307 859 219 1074 417 576 981 59 1445 239 981 205 185

ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH JEDDAH BEIRUT AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA JEDDAH BAHRAIN JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA CAIRO MUSCAT NEW YORK DUBAI DOHA ABU DHABI-INTL AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA RIYADH SHARJAH BAHRAIN JEDDAH RIYADH BAHRAIN WASHINGTON DC DULLES DUBAI DOHA DUBAI BEIRUT CAIRO DHAKA JEDDAH BAHRAIN RIYADH DUBAI GENEVA BAHRAIN LONDON DOHA MUSCAT DUBAI DUBAI ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI KOZHIKODE SHARJAH FRANKFURT DUBAI COLOMBO BEIRUT SHARJAH ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA AMSTERDAM COCHIN CHENNAI DUBAI DAMASCUS AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA BAHRAIN LAHORE DUBAI

14:05 14:30 14:35 14:45 14:50 15:10 15:00 15:35 15:50 15:50 15:55 16:35 16:40 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:25 17:30 17:55 17:00 18:00 18:00 18:20 18:40 18:45 18:50 18:05 18:00 18:45 19:35 19:30 19:25 19:15 19:30 19:35 19:00 19:55 20:00 20:05 20:05 20:10 20:15 20:20 20:55 20:15 21:10 21:20 21:30 21:35 21:40 21:45 22:00 22:05 22:15 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:20 23:10 23:15 23:20

Airlines AIC AXB JAI KLM BBC DLH SAI ETH THY UAE KAC ETD MSR QTR MSC FDB QTR KAC JZR FDB JAI JZR THY GFA QTR QTR KAC JZR THY FDB BAW IRA JZR JZR KAC KAC ABY KAC UAE ETD QTR IRA FDB GBG KAC GFA KAC IZG KAC MSC MSC JZR MEA KAC SYR JZR JZR TBZ MSR SVA

Departure Flights on Thursday 5/12/2013 Flt Route Time 976 GOA 00:05 490 MANGALORE 00:15 573 MUMBAI 01:10 411 AMSTERDAM 01:45 44 DHAKA 01:45 635 FRANKFURT 02:10 442 LAHORE 02:30 621 ADDIS ABABA 02:45 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 02:55 854 DUBAI 03:50 381 DELHI 03:50 306 ABU DHABI 04:00 613 CAIRO 04:10 1085 DOHA 04:15 406 SOHAG 04:45 68 DUBAI 05:00 1077 DOHA 05:15 283 DHAKA 05:30 560 SOHAG 06:20 70 DUBAI 06:30 575 ABU DHABI 06:35 164 DUBAI 06:55 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 07:05 212 BAHRAIN 07:15 8525 DOHA 07:15 8650 DHAKA 07:15 545 ALEXANDRIA 07:15 240 AMMAN 07:20 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 07:30 54 DUBAI 08:30 156 LONDON 08:45 616 AHWAZ 08:50 256 BEIRUT 08:55 534 CAIRO 09:00 561 AMMAN 09:25 787 JEDDAH 09:25 126 SHARJAH 09:40 101 LONDON0 09:50 856 DUBAI 09:55 302 ABU DHABI 10:05 1071 DOHA 10:10 606 MASHHAD 10:20 56 DUBAI 10:20 946 SHARJAH 11:00 501 BEIRUT 11:10 214 BAHRAIN 11:25 541 CAIRO 11:30 4162 MASHHAD 11:35 165 ROME 11:50 404 ASYUT 12:15 402 ALEXANDRIA 12:20 776 JEDDAH 12:25 405 BEIRUT 12:55 785 JEDDAH 13:00 342 DAMASCUS 13:30 786 RIYADH 13:35 176 DUBAI 13:45 5484 MASHHAD 13:50 580 SOHAG 13:50 2401 JEDDAH 13:55

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

MSR KNE UAE KNE FDB QTR KAC KAC KNE JZR GFA SVA KAC KNE KAC NIA OMA JZR JZR ETD QTR UAE JZR RJA ABY SVA GFA JZR JZR UAL FDB QTR GFA FDB TAR OMA KAC ABY MSR JAI KAC AXB KAC KAC DHX ALK MEA ETD GFA KAC UAE KAC JZR KLM QTR FDB JAI JZR SYR KAC KAC

611 481 872 475 58 1079 673 617 473 188 222 505 773 471 613 252 646 238 180 304 1073 858 538 641 128 511 216 184 266 982 64 1081 218 62 328 648 331 120 619 571 351 394 343 543 171 230 403 308 220 301 860 205 554 417 1075 60 575 528 1446 411 415

CAIRO TAIF DUBAI JEDDAH DUBAI DOHA DUBAI DOHA JEDDAH DUBAI BAHRAIN JEDDAH RIYADH JEDDAH BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA MUSCAT AMMAN AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI CAIRO AMMAN SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DUBAI DOHA BAHRAIN DUBAI TUNIS MUSCAT TRIVANDRUM SHARJAH ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI KOCHI KOZHIKODE CHENNAI CAIRO BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI ISLAMABAD ALEXANDRIA DAMMAM DOHA DUBAI ABU DHABI ASYUT DAMASCUS BANGKOK KUALA LUMPUR

14:00 14:10 14:15 14:25 14:30 14:55 15:05 15:30 15:30 15:40 15:45 16:00 16:05 16:30 16:35 16:50 16:55 16:55 16:55 17:35 17:40 17:50 17:50 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:40 18:50 19:15 19:25 19:40 20:15 20:45 20:50 20:55 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:40 21:50 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:30 22:35 22:50 22:55 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:15 23:25 23:35 23:55 23:55

34

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

s ta rs CROSSWORD 389

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19)

ARIES If you have given any thought to committing your ideas to a book, journal or periodical, now is the time to put pen to paper. You have a lot of imagination and creativity. Your ideas and thinking, together with your talent for putting your thoughts into words, allow you to captivate and spellbind. Your professional life does not leave you with time for personal projects but you may find yourself writing or creating outlines for a story, poem or jingle to complete and submit later. You are good at using your time well; whether it is for work or your own personal projects. Do not keep any of those personal projects at the workplace. This afternoon you might find yourself enjoying a good movie with a friend. Friendships are most satisfying now.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Escaping from the everyday, ordinary ways of doing things could prove most enjoyable to you. You may find it easy to bring a group together with your words or ideas that move others. Poetry and art may be possible this afternoon. Your whole world may seem meditative or dreamy. It may benefit you in many ways to take the time to reflect and truly understand your own particular situation, just how you feel about yourself. Feelings in particular, or the emotions of those around you, may be very clear. You may realize that now would be the perfect time to get a program of self-help started, especially dealing with your work habits, diet and exercise. The bottom line to all of this is simply the enjoyment of your life.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

5. A naturally occurring weak estrogenic hormone secreted by the mammalian ovary.

12. 10 grams.

15. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

16. Inability to use or understand language (spoken or written) because of a brain lesion.

17. A nucleic acid that transmits genetic information from DNA to the cytoplasm.

18. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

19. Of or relating to or derived from or containing boron.

21. A rugged box (usually made of wood).

23. Thigh of a hog (usually smoked).

25. 32nd President of the United States.

26. Paralysis of corresponding parts on both sides of the body.

28. Hampered and not free.

31. A daughter of your brother or sister.

32. Of low birth or station (`base' is archaic in this sense).

34. British sculptor (born in the United States) noted for busts and large controversial works (1880-1959).

37. Invulnerable to fear or intimidation.

38. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily.

39. Small tropical shrubby tree bearing small yellowish fruit.

43. Rich in decorative detail.

46. God of the Underworld.

47. A label made of cardboard or plastic or metal.

48. (computer science) A coding system that incorporates extra parity bits in order to detect errors.

49. East Indian tree bearing a profusion of intense vermilion velvet-textured blooms and yielding a yellow dye.

53. Tropical starchy tuberous root.

57. (India) Flat pancake-like bread cooked on a griddle.

60. A Dravidian language spoken in southern India.

64. A set of data arranged in rows and columns.

65. A graphical recording of the cardiac cycle produced by an electrocardiograph.

67. A city in central Lithuania.

68. British poet (born in the United States) who won the Nobel prize for literature (1888-1965).

69. Norse chieftan who became the first duke of Normandy (860-931).

71. A painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (`rick' and `wrick' are British).

72. A sign of assent or salutation or command.

73. A plant that reproduces or is reproduced by apomixis.

75. United States tennis player who was the first Black to win United States and English singles championships (1943-1993).

76. The compass point midway between northeast and east.

77. A tan discoloration of a woman's face that is associated with pregnancy or with the use of oral contraceptives.

78. Not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances.

DOWN 1. Large elliptical brightly colored deep-sea fish of Atlantic and Pacific and Mediterranean.

2. A metabolic acid found in yeast and liver cells.

3. An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

4. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

5. An earring with a pendant ornament.

6. A cut of pork ribs with much of the meat trimmed off.

7. Psychoactive substance present in marijuana.

8. A sudden short attack.

9. Of or relating to the songbirds n.

10. A hard malleable ductile silvery metallic element that is resistant to corrosion.

11. Imperial moths.

12. Silver-coated candy bead for decorating cakes.

13. (prefix) Opposite or opposing or neutralizing.

14. (Greek mythology) Goddess of the earth and mother of Cronus and the Titans in ancient mythology.

20. Informal terms.

22. Set straight or right.

24. Small hardy range horse of the western plains descended from horses brought by the Spanish.

27. Any of numerous superior eating apples with yellow or greenish yellow skin flushed with red.

29. Emperor of Rome who introduced a degree of freedom after the repressive reign of Domitian.

30. Either extremity of something that has length.

33. Frogs, toads, tree toads.

35. Tropical American tree grown in southern United States having a whitish pink-tinged fruit.

36. Indian religious leader who founded Sikhism (1469-1538).

40. Being one hundred more than two hundred.

41. A diacritical mark (an inverted circumflex) placed above certain letters (such as c) to indicate pronunciation.

42. A slight amount or degree of difference.

44. Make editorial changes (in a text).

45. A mild comatose state.

50. Antibiotic-resistant mycoplasma causing a kind of pneumonia in humans.

51. Desert shrub of Syria and Arabia having small white flowers.

52. Any of a group of natural steroid alcohols derived from plants or animals.

54. A member of the Siouan people of the northern Mississippi valley.

55. A nucleic acid consisting of large molecules shaped like a double helix.

56. (zoology) Relating to frogs and toads.

58. A compound in which the hydrogen atoms of a hydrocarbon have been replaced by bromine and other halogen atoms.

59. Dwell (archaic).

61. Native to Egypt but cultivated widely for its aromatic seeds and the oil from them used medicinally and as a flavoring in cookery.

62. Russian country house.

63. Someone who asks a question.

66. Type genus of the Gliridae.

70. The smallest multiple that is exactly divisible by every member of a set of numbers.

74. The 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Someone in authority may come to you with a special project that requires a cautious mind. This additional responsibility could put you more in the limelight than usual. Hang in there; this experience will be more enjoyable than you think.

New technologies may provide outlets to meet more people and expand your career. A person who is very important to your professional development encourages your selfexpression. Some form of flattery regarding your talents comes to your attention. You may find it easy to enjoy and value the path that your life is taking at this time. Your mate encourages you in your work. You spend time in thought, looking for ways to add vitality to life and to instigate methods to achieve a more profound intimacy.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Both projects and people should keep you very busy as well as challenged just now as you assess how to get things organized. You could find this a time of unwavering study and thought, as you are not prone to taking on another’s opinion without first investigating that person’s motives. People may talk you into some plan but you must have some form of authority. You could find those around you feeling a big sense of appreciation or value for your position. Young people you know are inventive and can create extremely worthy projects. Some of these youth may decide to be of help to the handicapped or invent their own television shows on current events, etc. This is where your future may be oriented: encouraging the young.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Being active on the social scene and demonstrating your social graces will be a big step in paving your path to success. This is a time for forging ahead, a time that you can combine business and pleasure and a time to enjoy your career and rewards.

Ambition and achievement are qualities that you hold in special regard. As your professional life progresses, there arises a passion for details. There is a need to do just the right thing at just the right time, and a burning desire to have a place for everything and everything in its place. Care must be taken not to take these feelings to the extreme, or you could find yourself battling such things as ulcers or digestive problems as a result.

Knowing that you have done a good job will be your reward.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) If you are feeling that you have little control, this can be restored now by making an effort to be more comfortable and appreciative of yourself. You take action to manifest your dreams and this includes your personal life as well as your professional life.

In your professional life, you no longer cling to work practices that are not effective. Steer clear of meddlesome colleagues who try to embroil you in office politics. In your personal life a feeling of security comes from your closest friends, morals and social interaction. This self-clearing is part of your personal and professional transformation. You are letting go of the people, situations and attitudes that are counterproductive to your personal development. Share quality time with a loved one tonight.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) This particular day is so much fun that your mind may not be on business as much as it should be. You could be a bit distracted from a meeting. Perhaps a phone call lets you know a loan was approved, or someone agreed to sign a contract so you could get that new car, or a new baby was born. Unfinished business in the workplace will be your first priority this afternoon; double-check your work before you send it on down the line. Children are not as apt to be a problem at this time, particularly if you allow them some time for craft, responsibilities and rewards and attention for any extra chores they might want to perform. You enjoy your friends and your children’s friends. Expand your creative talent . . . Art is calling.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Work is work, but after the workday is over, you begin the activities you really enjoy. You may be coaching a young soccer team or helping to prepare a competitive group to meet their goals. Work is only the means to get you where you want to go. You may tolerate behavior in the workplace that could be difficult for others to endure. There are steps to solving problems, as well as getting along with troublesome people, and you might consider writing a book about these subjects. You do not have any enemies and can get along with the most difficult of people. The result of your nonjudgmental attitude in the workplace may have a ripple effect that will open the door to better interaction among people. Consider taking this attitude into your off-hours.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You are most persuasive with others today. You are determined to stay focused on some particular goal. This could be the day you break all of your own sales records. One of your secrets to success is to back up and see the whole picture instead of becoming involved in one part of the subject. Where some see a problem, you see beautiful ideas and can simplify the most complicated situation. You have a rapport with the public and try to teach others how to gain the same connection. You do not seek to separate yourself from your co-workers. Sophistication and connection to others are the key elements to emotional gratification now. The most enjoyable times you will remember are the social times like the time you enjoy with friends this evening.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You may find that your ideas and thoughts run in the opposite direction of today’s activity. A little more of a focused effort helps to put you in the moment, however. You look forward to some exciting event occurring soon—this may be where you fight to gain a focus. Regardless of distractions, work proceeds rather well.

Evidently, you have done some preliminary work that helps the progress of today’s project—not a glitch! A very close friend or relative, whom you care for, could be coming to you for advice concerning a very personal and emotional issue. You may be most helpful through locating some avenue of resources as well as just being available to listen. Help is best when the person in need can help himself or herself.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Sensitivity is needed today; you may be called upon to use your creative insight when an aggressive person doesn’t seem to take no for an answer. You know just how to handle a difficult situation. If you are not in a management position, you might consider the possibility. You seem to enjoy stress and appreciate the challenges. However, it would be a good thing to free up a bit of your time for yourself. Make sure there is laughter in that free time period. You create a positive influence on others in all areas of your life and could enter into a mentor program. This is a time in which you will feel the need to express your talents—a creative awakening. A social gathering will bring just such an opportunity to be expressive and enjoy your friends.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) The folks around you are appreciative of your ability to be able to make constructive suggestions or to help them with practical decisions. This may mean that you are good in some sort of counseling or social work, or you could work as a consultant for businesses. Knowing exactly what the public wants at this time is yet another feather in your hat. Expect to make clear decisions that will affect others. You have a greater appreciation for your fellow workers as well as the business for which you work. You may find yourself gaining a great deal materially. It is most assuredly a time when tangible things are important to you. The feelings of those around you should be quite clear, making it a successful time for any sort of communication needs.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

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Yesterday’s Solution

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

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25312700

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24849400

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24892010

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23940620

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24840300

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24846000

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24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

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22545171

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Sabhan

24742838

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Al-Helaly

22434853

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

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22545051

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New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

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24734000 24881201 24726638

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24711433

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24316983

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

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23927002

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24316983

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23980088

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23711183

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23262845

Hawally

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25716707

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22517733

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22517144

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25610011

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24848075

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25616368

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24849807

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24848913

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24814507

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22549134

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22526804

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24814764

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22515088

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22532265

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22531908

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22518752

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22459381

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22451082

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22456536

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22465401

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25746401

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25316254

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25623444

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25388462

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25381200

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22630786

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24810221

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24770319

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24575755

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24772608

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24775066

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24775992

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24311795

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24884079

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24892674

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24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

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22621099

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25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

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22641071/2

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25739272

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22562226

22618787

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22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

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25653755

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25620111

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22610044

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25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

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25355515

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24726446

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25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

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25345875

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22636464

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25322030

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22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

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25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

lifestyle F E A T U R E S

Cartier the ‘King of Jewelers’ shines in Paris expo Some of Farrah Fawcett’s personal belongings are displayed at Heritage Auctions.

Farrah Fawcett passport, red swimsuit up for auction in Dallas

A visitor looks at creations by Cartier as they are displayed during the exhibition.

F

rom the royal diadem worn by Kate Middleton at her wedding to an outsized maharaja’s necklace, hundreds of glimmering treasures go on show this week in a major Paris exhibit on Cartier. “Jeweler of Kings and King of Jewelers” was how King Edward VII dubbed the house, half a century after Louis-Francois Cartier founded what would become the world’s largest jeweler in 1847. It was certainly to Cartier that the Maharaja of Patiala turned when he travelled to France early last century from India’s Punjab laden with treasure.

“He arrived in Paris in 1928 with chests packed full of antique jewels and asked Cartier to rework them in a modern style,” the curator of the Cartier collection Pascale Lepeu told AFP. The result, one of the pieces on display: a necklace of five diamond-studded chains large enough to cover his whole chest. The show running until February 16 under the famous glass roof of the Grand Palais exhibition hall is the largest ever devoted to Cartier.

With items dating from the 19th century to the 1970s, it highlights the styles that influenced the house over the years, from Marie-Antoinette to the Art Deco movement, to Russian, Indian and Chinese trends. Most of the 600 pieces on show belong to the house, which decided in the mid-1980s to start buying back historic pieces, at auction or from antique dealers.

It tracked down the maharaja’s necklace in 1998. Others are high-profile loans, including from Queen Elizabeth II who made available the tiara Cartier created in 1936 for the British royal family, which the queen lent to Prince William’s bride for their wedding last year. Known as the “Halo” and set with 739 brilliant and 149 baton diamonds, it was bought by George VI before his coronation for the Duchess of York, now the Queen Mother, who presented it to

la Paix, Cartier enjoyed sales of four billion euros (more than $5 billion) in 2012 and could hit five billion euros this year. China has accounted for the lion’s share of its growth in the past decade, today accounting for up to a third of turnover.

Cartier remained in family hands until 1964, with its founder’s grandson Louis-a passionate watchmaker-taking the jewelry firm into watchmaking between the wars.

Today Cartier is owned by the Swiss luxury group Richemont alongside the likes of Van Cleef & Arpels. Business aside, for the head of France’s national museums Jean-Paul Cluzel, Cartier is an integral part of French heritage. “The show is not about promoting a brand, but about analyzing a style as seen by heritage experts and art historians,” he writes in the show catalogue. — AFP Picture shows a carp-shaped clock designed by Cartier in 1925, as it is displayed during the exhibition dedicated to French luxury watchmaker-jeweler Cartier entitled ‘Cartier, le style, l’histoire’ (Cartier, style and history) at the Grand Palais in Paris prior to its public opening. — AFP photos

A A tiara designed by Cartier in 1902.

Picture shows a snake-shaped necklace designed by Cartier in 1968. example of Cartier’s iconic panther, a majestic creature of platinum, gold and diamonds mounted on a smooth sapphire. “We are experiencing a golden age,” Cartier’s chairman Stanislas de Quercize told AFP. “We have never created as much, and demand is high from all around the world.”

Among the leading symbols of French luxury, with more than 300 stores worldwide including its Paris flagship on Rue de A Japanese mirror clock designed by Cartier in 1945.

Elizabeth on her 18th birthday.

Also on loan from the queen, an exceptional 23.6 carat pink diamond, gifted to Elizabeth for her wedding and set into a flower-shaped brooch by Cartier. And 18 of Cartier’s so-called “Mystery Clocks”-whose diamond hands appear to float in thin airhave been brought together for the first time for the exhibit. “These are the essence of Cartier,” Lepeu said. The first was created in 1912, at a time when it took a year to build just one.

A clock with a deity by Cartier.

A ‘golden age’ for Cartier Grace Kelly’s diamond engagement ring is on show alongside the extravagant jewels of the Mexican actress Maria Felix, such as a snake necklace made from 2,473 diamonds and emeralds. The show closes with an

A clock designed by Cartier in 1926.

A platinum, diamonds, and emerald necklace designed by Cartier in 1932.

A canceled passport belonging to Farrah Fawcett is displayed at Heritage Auctions in Dallas.

— AP photos

Picture shows an Academician’s sword designed by Cartier for French poet Jean Cocteau in 1955.

driver’s license, film scripts, and a skimpy red swimsuit that once belonged to 1970s icon Farrah Fawcett will go up for auction in Dallas on Friday. The dozen or so items come from a collection owned by Fawcett’s nephew Greg S. Walls and are expected to fetch tens of thousands of dollars, according to Heritage Auctions. “Though Farrah Fawcett will forever be associated with the 1970s and that famous, famous hairdo of hers, she remains a beloved, respected instantly recognizable Hollywood star just as much today,” said Margaret Barrett, Heritage director of entertainment and music auctions.

Texas-born Fawcett was one of the best-known celebrities in the United States nearly 40 years ago, thanks to her role in the TV show “Charlie’s Angels” and an iconic poster of her in a red swimsuit that sold millions of copies. Walls donated the swimsuit Fawcett wore in her famous poster to The Smithsonian a year after she died of cancer in 2009 at age 62. But a red vinyl swimsuit she wore for a 1995 photo spread in Esquire Magazine is among the dozens of items up for sale.

Other items include Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences membership cards, a 1977 People’s Choice Award, film and television scripts, a handtooled leather director’s chair, a California driver’s license and Fawcett’s 1980 passport. Also up for auction on Friday is a gray wool suit Gene Kelly wore as he danced in a downpour on screen in the 1952 Hollywood hit musical “Singin’ in the Rain”.

As the items go on sale in Dallas, a civil trial is also underway in Los Angeles over ownership of a portrait of Fawcett by celebrated artist Andy Warhol, which could be worth millions of dollars. The University of Texas, to whom the actress agreed to donate all of her artwork prior to her death, is suing Fawcett’s former partner, actor Ryan O’Neal, to recover the portrait. In a Los Angeles courtroom, O’Neal, 72, testified on Monday that Warhol gave him the painting. The actor also said he took the portrait from Fawcett’s Los Angeles condominium after her death because she was keeping it for him.

The university sued O’Neal in 2011 after the portrait was seen in an episode of the actor’s short-lived reality television series with daughter Tatum. O’Neal, known for his role in 1970 romantic drama “Love Story,” had a relationship with Fawcett from 1979 to 1997 and from 2001 until her death in 2009. Fawcett had her only child, Redmond, with O’Neal. — Reuters

Cyrus, Arias murder trial top Yahoo’s 2013 searches

P

op singer Miley Cyrus and the trial of boyfriend-killer Jodi Arias dominated Yahoo’s online searches in 2013, the web search engine said on Tuesday, while rapper-producer duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis dominated music streams on Spotify. Cyrus, 21, generated the most overall searches on Yahoo this year, overtaking reality television personality Kim Kardashian, who topped the list last year.

Cyrus has had an attention-filled 2013, in which she grabbed headlines for her breakup with actor-fiance Liam Hemsworth, danced provocatively on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards in August, and released her new album “Bangerz” in October.

The murder trial of 33-year-old Arias, who was found guilty in May of killing her boyfriend Travis Alexander at his

Phoenix-area home, captivated the public over five months with bizarre testimony and graphic sexual evidence, helping it become the most searched news item on Yahoo.

Arias’ trial was followed on Yahoo by the Affordable Care Act and its common name “Obamacare,” which were counted as one search term, as the second most-searched news story, while the Boston Marathon bombing in April came in third.

President Barack Obama was the top-searched political figure, topping ailing Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, at No. 2, and former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin at No. 3. While Cyrus topped Yahoo’s overall searches, R&B singer Beyonce topped Microsoft’s

Miley Cyrus Bing search engine as the mostsearched person, while Kardashian’s

first child, daughter North West she had with rapper Kanye West, topped

Ask.com’s top celebrity search terms.

Online music-streaming site Spotify also released its 2013 year in review on Tuesday and named Seattle’s rapperproducer duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis as the year’s most-streamed artist. The pair have seen their career skyrocket this year as their debut album “The Heist” spawned hit singles “Thrift Shop,” “Same Love” and “Can’t Hold Us,” which was the most-streamed single.

Shazam, the music-identifying online app, also named Macklemore & Ryan Lewis as its most “Shazamed” artist, with 11.7 million tags throughout the year. R&B singer Rihanna came second with 8.4 million tags. She was also named Spotify’s most-streamed female artist for a second consecutive year. — Reuters

37

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

LIFESTYLE M U S I C

&

M O V I E S

CMT celebrates the men of country music C

MT’s celebration of country music’s top artists of 2013 was a complete dude fest. Whether it was saluting Tim McGraw as a more-relevant-than-ever trailblazer, acknowledging the genre’s love-hate relationship with Florida Georgia Line, the precociousness of Hunter Hayes or the current dominance of good buddies Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan, Tuesday night’s live broadcast of “CMT Artists of the Year” had plenty of bro hugs to go around.

“It’s really cool to be part of this fraternity and what’s going on in Nashville right now, and country music is one of the coolest things in the world,” Aldean said as he

Hunter Hayes accepts his award as he’s congratulated by Peter Framptom.

Luke Bryan accepts his award.

Men ruled country radio this year, and thus the format, with only Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood making waves in what’s considered mainstream country. Tuesday’s show reflected that year.

McGraw made something of a comeback this year, releasing his first post-Curb Records album and reclaiming his place as one of country’s most bankable stars under a new record deal with Big Machine

S Korea soap operas tap

North defectors for drama

This handout photo released by South Korea’s state-run TV station KBS on November 11, 2013 shows South Korean actors of the popular soap opera, “Cheer Up, Mr Kim,” which featured as a major supporting character a young North Korean defector in Seoul. —AFP

S

outh Korea’s massively popular soap operas are not known for embracing diversity, with gay or disabled characters only recently making inroads. But now a new minority type is emerging - the sympathetic North Korean. Since the end of the 1950-53 war that sealed the division of the Korean peninsula, the perception of North Koreans in the South has been molded by Cold War politics. Images of life north of the border have largely been limited to South Korean TV news broadcasts showing members of the ruling Kim dynasty, goose-stepping soldiers, or grimfaced Pyongyang news anchors reading out threats to turn the South into a “sea of flames.”

But cultural representations of North Koreans have undergone significant change in recent years. One example is the North Korean secret agent-a stock character in South Korean films down the decades and traditionally played as a soulless, brainwashed villain. Recent movies have sought to paint a more human, even sympathetic profile, portraying spies as conflicted action heroes whose personal struggles embody a divided Korean peninsula. Actors are vying for such roles, as opposed to fearing the potential impact on their image.

The culturally conservative TV industry has been slower to shift its ground, but the search for fresh twists to popular soap opera plot lines has uncovered a rich seam of untapped potential in the North Korean defector community. “North Koreans, especially defectors who have come to the South, have very dramatic stories to tell-a life in the country like the North, a harrowing journey to escape it and a struggle to survive in a new world,” Nam Gunn, a director at SBS, one of the South’s three major TV stations, told AFP. “Naturally, these characters have much to offer TV dramas ... and they are largely uncharted territory,” he said.

Challenges of life in the South Since the end of the Korean War, about 25,000 North Koreans have escaped and settled in the South. For many freedom has come at a price, as they struggle to survive in a highly-competitive market economy where they are often treated with a mixture of sympathy, suspicion and condescension. In the past year or so, at least five soap operas have decided the defector experience offers storyline possibilities and have written in roles for North Korean characters.

Nam recently directed a critically-acclaimed two-episode black comedy, featuring a North Korean character-a former member of Pyongyang’s political elite-who suffers a series of mishaps in the South. The main character of “A

served as something of a dividing line for the genre’s fans. Alabama noted the debate while introducing FGL. “They remind us of us,” singer Randy Owen said. “Everybody hated our ass.” FGL, which also includes Tyler Hubbard, performed new hit “Stay.” Lady Antebellum performed McGraw’s “Highway Don’t Care” with Peter Frampton handling guitar solo duties.

Hunter Hayes and Pat Monahan of Train mashed up their hits “I Want Crazy” and “Hey Soul Sister.” Travis Tritt performed Aldean’s “Night Train” with Cassadee Pope, and Bryan topped off the show by choosing to perform duets of “Oh No” and “All Night Long” with Lionel Richie. Bryan was the night’s final honoree, a tip of the cap to the year he’s had. Bryan has the top-selling country album released in 2013, was the Academy of Country Music’s top honoree and shook his rear to the top of the genre. “I never expected my butt to get so much attention,” Bryan joked. — AP

accepted his fourth artist of the year award one for each edition of the fourth annual show. “I’m glad to be a part of it. I’m glad people like what I do.” Fraternity was the right word for the night - and the year - in country music.

Stranger”-aired in early November-eventually tries to sneak back to the North, only to be rejected. Then, on his return to Seoul, he is accused of spying.

Nam cited as one of his inspirations a popular weekly talk show, “On My Way to Meet You,” which features 15 female North Korean defectors as regular guests. The show-launched in 2011 — shows the women recounting, often tearfully, their family, cultural and political lives in North Korea and the challenges of life in the South. A critical and commercial success, it proved that there was considerable viewer interest in defector stories.

‘Our brothers or sisters’ State-run KBS, probably the most conservative broadcaster, featured a North Korean defector character in its hugely popular prime-time soap opera “Cheer Up, Mr Kim” last year. Played by a South Korean actor, the role was of a teenage boy, Ri Chol-Young, who lost most of his family members in a prison camp in the North and fled to Seoul. Overcoming his initial difficulties, Ri meets neighbors who embrace him as their own and falls in love with a South Korean girl-an unlikely match in reality given the financial insecurity of most defectors in the South.

“I wanted to shed a light on this minority group that is so isolated and discriminated against in our society,” Hong Seok-Gu, the producer of the show, told AFP. “I wanted the audience to realize that North Koreans can be our own neighbors who are actually just like us, our brothers or sisters,” Hong said. Seoul’s Unification Ministry, which handles relations with the North, clearly approved and gave the producers a special award in recognition of their efforts to promote inter-Korean understanding.

“It helped the public to view North Korean refugees as their own neighbors, rather than strangers,” the award citation said. The defector issue is a particularly sensitive one, and not all efforts at portraying their experience have been welcomed. Production of “A Stranger” almost came to a halt after a group of defectors said it made fun of them and reinforced prejudices.

“The show only focused on crimes committed by a few rogue defectors, while most of us struggle to live a decent, honest life,” said Han ChangKwon, a defector and activist who led protests against the production in July.

Han said most defectors were too busy trying to survive to watch TV shows. “We just wish they would show us in a positive light ... because life in the South is already challenging enough,” he said. — AFP

Tyler Hubbard, left, and Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line accept their award at CMT “Artists of the Year” show held at the Music City Center. — AP photos Records. McGraw acknowledged his fellow honorees while accepting his new trophy.

“The new artists that are coming along are making great music,” McGraw said. “The other ... five artists ... that I’m here with tonight, that’s what keeps me going and that’s what inspires me to make music. They teach me something every time I see them on tour ... or every time I spend a few minutes sitting and talking with somebody.

Every time I hear one of their records, it inspires me to go back in the studio and make better records and get better at what I do and get better at my craft.” Florida Georgia Line member Brian Kelley returned the hosannas: “Thank you for making amazing music. You’re the reason so many people move to Nashville, Tenn, to make country music.”

The duo’s “Cruise,” featuring Nelly, was Luke Bryan, right, and Lionel Richie perform on stage. the year’s biggest country music song, and

Oops, she did it again:

Spears fails on new album Britney Spears, “Britney Jean” (RCA Records)

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ou want to release a good album? You better work harder, chick. A lot harder. Britney Spears’ latest release, “Britney Jean,” is a total letdown. It’s not that we expect Adele styled songs from Spears - or even Rihanna-like ones - but Spears was once a pop powerhouse who made music considered a must-listen, from “Toxic” to “I’m a Slave 4 U.” Listening to this album makes you nostalgic for those days - nothing on “Britney Jean” would be contenders for any future greatest hits package.

The 10-track set lacks so many things: oomph, swag, sexy appeal, as well as addictive, memorable hooks. It’s almost like Spears isn’t even present. Tracks like “It Should Be Easy” and “Till It’s Gone” are techno misses - and messes - even though David Guetta helmed both songs. The light ballad and second single, “Perfume,” is laughable, with Spears warbling: “And while I wait, I put on my perfume, yeah I want it all over you, I’m gonna mark my territory.” It sounds more like a commercial than an actual song (it should be noted that Spears has released a dozen perfumes, including two this year).

“Perfume” was co-written by Sia, the ultra-talented singer who has found success writing Rihanna’s “Diamonds” and tunes for Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry and Eminem. Another star, will.i.am, is the executive producer of Spears’ eighth album. Are they purposely giving her C- and D-level material? While “Britney Jean” has its upbeat moments, the album is one of Spears’ slowest. The singer said some songs draw from her recent breakup, but she doesn’t capture emotion that will make you a believer with this batch of tracks. The album follows in the robotic fashion of 2011’s “Femme Fatale,” though that set had more flavor and standout

This photo provided by RCA Records shows the album cover for Britney Spears’, “Britney Jean,” from RCA Records. — AP tracks. Aside from the sexually charged, T.I.-assisted “Tik Tik Boom” and the lead single, “Work B—,” Spears isn’t putting in any real work. — AP

NY film critics name ‘American Hustle’ best film T

he New York Film Critics Circle named “American Hustle” the best film of 2013, giving David O. Russell’s fictionalized Abscam tale an early jolt in Hollywood’s awards season. The film was also awarded best supporting actress for Jennifer Lawrence and best screenplay for the script

by Russell and Eric Singer. The film, which doesn’t open in theaters until Dec. 13, is about a collection of FBI agents and con men that brought down high-profile politicians in and around New Jersey in the late 1970s.

Best actor went to Robert Redford for his near-wordless performance in the shipwreck drama “All Is Lost.” Cate Blanchett won best actress for her leading role as a bitter, fallen socialite in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine.” “12 Years of Slave” filmmaker Steve McQueen

took best director for his adaptation of Solomon Northup’s memoir about being abducted and sold into slavery in 19th-century Louisiana. The critics group doesn’t frequently predict Academy Awards winners.

Last year, it chose Kathryn Bigelow’s Osama bin Laden hunt docudrama “Zero Dark Thirty” as best picture, though the group was in line with Oscar voters in 2011 with “The Artist.”

Many prognosticators consider the frontrunners this year to be “12 Years a Slave” and the space adventure “Gravity,” but early awards are finding anything but consensus.

On Monday night, the Gotham Independent Awards chose the Coen brothers’ early ‘60s folk music tale “Inside Llewyn Davis” as best film. The New York critics named Bruno

Delbonnel’s photography for “Inside Llewyn Davis” best cinematography. Best supporting actor went to Jared Leto for his performance as an HIV-afflicted transsexual in “Dallas Buyers Club.”

Other awards included “Blue is the Warmest Color” for best foreign language picture, “Stories We Tell” for best non-fiction film, and “The Wind Rises” for best animated film. The New York Film Critics Circle, a body of New York-based critics founded in 1935, announced their annual vote on Twitter.

Awards will be handed out at a ceremony Jan 6. Award-giving continues Wednesday with the National Board of Review Awards.

The Los Angeles Film Critics make their picks Sunday. Golden Globe nominations will be announced Dec 12. — AP

This film image released by Sony Pictures shows, from left, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence in a scene from “American Hustle.”—AP

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

lifestyle F E A T U R E S

This photo provided by Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center in Boston shows the wedding of Payal Agrawal and Sanjay Divakaran. — AP photos

This photo provided by Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center in Boston shows the wedding of Payal Agrawal and Sanjay Divakaran.

Ethnic menus: Hotels loosen rules on outside food

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ariam Hashimi and her husband, Munis Alkouz, chose the hotel for their November wedding reception mainly for one reason: It allowed them to use a local caterer to bring in the traditional Afghan rice and meat dishes that hotel chefs often aren’t trained to prepare.

“For our weddings, food is really important,” said Hashimi, who grew up in an Afghan immigrant family and lives in Albuquerque, N.M. She had her reception at the Sheraton Uptown Hotel there. Many hotels and banquet halls have begun permitting brides and grooms to hire outside caterers and work with local restaurants to serve menus reflecting a wider range of cultures and cuisines. It’s a change from the long-held practice of insisting that customers use only in-house food choices, said Sharon Ringier, president of the Chicago chapter of the Event Planners Association.”They don’t want to miss out on the revenue,”Ringier said. “It’s better to accommodate (customers).”

That’s good news for couples wishing to serve ethnic foods at wedding receptions.

Venues typically charge customers an outside

catering fee that covers use of the venue’s equipment and staff, who still have to set up the room and clean up after the party. The Sheraton Uptown in Albuquerque started allowing guests to contract with outside caterers for weddings, bar mitzvahs and other special events about two years ago, said catering sales manager Cindy Martinez.

Specifically, it was the demand for traditional Indian food that prompted the change, she said. “Indian weddings tend to be very large. They’re nice events,” Martinez said. “They generate good revenue.” The hotel worked with a local restaurant to develop an Indian menu. “Instead of the client going to them, it’s all done in one stop,” Martinez said. Clients can choose from other approved caterers, too.

Likewise, the Hilton Columbus/Polaris hotel in Ohio began working with outside caterers about three years to accommodate an Indian wedding, said senior catering manager Jacob Kristensen. “We wanted to be able to offer them something authentic. They had many guests coming from India,” he said. “We didn’t feel like we could do it” without help from a restaurant. Since then, the hotel has hosted a

number of Indian events.

“The word spread very fast,” said Kristensen, adding that the policy also extends to kosher food since the hotel does not have a kosher kitchen. In the past, families that wanted to cap a celebration with a traditional meal may have had to go to a restaurant, said Marie Reeder, catering director at the Anaheim Hills Golf Clubhouse in California, which works with a variety of specialty caterers, including South Asian, Persian and Chinese.

“The younger generation can have their event at a country club and still serve traditional foods,” said. Finding a venue that allowed outside catering was a must for Nadiaa Ansari when she was planning her brother’s July wedding. The Muslim family needed to serve halal meat for religious reasons. She chose the Owego Treadway Inn & Suites in Owego, NY, because of its willingness to accommodate them. “It’s hard to find venues in smaller towns that are aware of those things and are willing to work with you,” said Ansari, who handled the wedding planning because tradition dictates that the groom’s family host the celebration. Families will rec-

catering for more than a decade. Kids who had their bar or bat mitzvah there have come back for their weddings, he said. “It’s a whole family celebration. It’s got to be right. It’s got to be memorable,” he said.

This July 2013 photo provided by Lynn Barsigian Photography shows the wedding guests of Ateeb Ansari and Sheema Aleem serving themselves some of the Indian food that an outside caterer prepared for the event at Owego Treadway Inn & Conference Center in New York. ommend a venue or come back again if they feel their needs and traditions have been understood, said Jim Carmody, general manager of the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center in Boston, which has permitted outside

This July 2013 photo provided by Lynn Barsigian Photography shows Ateeb Ansari and Sheema Aleem cutting the cake at their wedding.

Being a good wedding guest

RSVPs, phones, gifts and other problem areas

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f Tiffany Schutt’s 250 wedding guests, one surely stood out. Not only was she not invited, but the young guest, a relative with whom the couple wasn’t particularly close, turned up in a white dress - and a short and sexy one at that. In fact, she was one of five uninvited relatives whose names were added to invited guests’ response cards. Schutt, who married in Indianapolis, was flattered but also in disbelief that they so badly wanted to attend. “We are very laid-back, thankfully, so that day I took it in stride,” she said. “It just seemed not to be the best etiquette.”

When it comes to manners, experts say wedding guests do well overall but are still causing headaches on a few fronts. “The No. 1 thing that I hear about from frustrated brides is guests not RSVPing, not RSVPing on time or RSVPing for more than one person,” said Anna Post, great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post and co-author of the upcoming new edition of “Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette” (William Morrow). “It’s all about the RSVP.”

annoyed with you, you’re uninvited.’” New York wedding planner Marcy Blum suggests adding an enclosure with the invitation listing an email address people can use to RSVP or ask questions.

Brides put thought into addressing their invitations, which spell out exactly who is invited. When guests treat the RSVP card like a write-in ballot, a phone call is in order, Post said, so they understand that their date or child was not invited. Some parents don’t like leaving their children home, but experts urge couples to resist such pressure. “Do not cave to this, because it’s completely unfair to all the guests who do find child care and respect your wishes,” Post says. Besides RSVPs, another etiquette trouble spot is smartphones - in particular, those guests who crowd the aisle to take pictures and then post the images online before the ceremony is even over, scooping the couple’s wedding photographer.

“A bride is very particular about how she looks at her wedding, and she does not want the photo that isn’t the most possible flattering photo to be all over Facebook before she gets to look at her wedding shots,” Blum said.

Photos aside, phones detract from the solemnity of the ceremony. “If you’re so busy tweeting and Instagraming, you’re not paying attention,” Blum said.

“It’s almost a cosmic faux pas. People want your energy with them and focused on what they’re doing.” Blum, who has planned the nuptials for notables like LeBron James and George Soros, says couples can try to head this off by including a note in the welcome gift or on the program. The officiant or best man can make an announcement, or you can place a sign at the entryway.

Keeping guests from snapping away at the reception, though, may be a losing fight, Post says, though couples can ask guests to refrain from posting the photos online.

“I would pick and choose your battles,” she said. “The ceremony is the right place to focus.” Other do’s and don’ts for guests: Dress Don’t be too informal, and avoid wearing anything that’s too sexy, too over-the-top or too white. Blum notes a resurgence of women wearing white to weddings, and says brides don’t appreciate that on their big day in white. “For many, many years it was never an issue because etiquette was stricter all around, so people didn’t do it,” Blum said. “Now that things have loosened up a bit, that is something that brides still get very upset about.”

This 2012 photo provided by Marcy Blum Associates shows wedding planner, Marcy Blum, at a wedding reception in Tuscany, Italy.

Blame it on the relaxed culture, busy lives or the hope of a better Saturday night offer, but some people just can’t get it together to mail the response card back. And don’t get brides started on the guests who say they will attend, only to end up as no-shows.

“People have gotten casual about this,” Post says.

“When it comes to the wedding they think, it’s not a big deal. I’m just one person, it’ll be fine. And it’s really not.

It’s a lot of money and a lot of stress for the couple.”

Brides and grooms might want to add a cushion of a week or so before they have to give a headcount to the caterer or venue so they can chase people down.

“The key is to keep the frustration out of your voice,” Post says. “It can’t be those sweet words with a nasty tone because that defeats the purpose of wanting to invite them in the first place. You can’t say, ‘I’m so

Gifts Some regional traditions may call for bringing the gift to the wedding, but experts say that in general they are best sent ahead of time, avoiding the possibility of theft and the hassle for the couple of hauling them home. If not, a gift should be sent within three months, Post says.

Behavior Arrive early, and stay to dance, mingle and converse at dinner. “Being social and engaged is one of the best ways to be a good guest, along with not getting too drunk, or drunk period,” Post says.

Toasts Toasts to the couples can get out of hand if guests, sometimes tipsy ones, start asking for the microphone.

Proper form says guests should not speak unless they are asked or receive permission. Despite reality shows sensationalizing crazy wedding behavior, Blum says guests do seem better behaved today as couples create their guest lists with great care. “There’s something about a wedding that for the most part,” she says, “brings out the best in people.” — AP

Photo provided by Alana Mallon shows groom, Jim Mallon, second right, enjoying singer Gedeon McKinney and the Uptown Swing Band he hired through GMS Management for his wedding to his bride, Alana Mallon, during the reception in New Rochelle, New York.

A Groom’s Guide to Getting Involved (sort of)

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enerations ago, planning a wedding was 100 percent the bride’s job, but in today’s age of gender equity, it’s a mere 99 percent. Yes, we modern men are more involved than ever, but many of us are still left wondering, “How can I take a more active role in the stress and panic of planning the happiest day of my life?”

Gentlemen, you’ve come to the right guy.

Groom Job 1: Plan the Menu.

When it comes to cuisine, the crucial question is: cash bar or open bar? Once you’ve chosen the latter, tackle other meal-related matters. Will you keep your open bar open throughout the reception or for the first hour only? (Hint: throughout the reception.) What about hors d’oeuvres?

Will your guests be sipping them through bottles, glasses or cans? Remember, you can’t please everyone. Therefore, it’s best to inscribe BYOB under RSVP on your wedding invitations. You may also want to consider serving some food.

Groom Job 2: Book the Music.

Wedding musicians are expensive, so cut costs by asking your groomsmen to lip synch and air guitar to a playlist you’ll download from iTunes. Alternatively, you can hire a deejay. A deejay is an individual who sees your wedding as an opportunity to act out his fantasies of being Eddie Van Halen, Rock God, by dancing in place to all his favorite hits.

Remind him that it is your special day, not his. Inform him that the song you’ve chosen for your first dance isn’t actually “Hot For Teacher.” Request that he blend into the background, perhaps by streaming his set to the dance floor from his booth in the banquet hall boiler room.

you realize that no one’s going to get you anything from these places. They are going to get you bowls. So go help your bride pick out punch bowls, bisque bowls, bowls to hold other bowls. If you don’t, you’ll miss out on the most rewarding groom job of all: returning them for a full cash refund as soon as you get back from your honeymoon.

Groom Job 5: Plan the Honeymoon.

Choosing a destination typically falls to the man, which explains why many couples are slapped with steep penalty fees upon cancelling their flights to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Remember, your honeymoon is a time to rest, to recuperate, to experience the phenomenon of everyone being uncharacteristically nice to you.

Groom: Excuse me, flight attendant, do you think we can have two peanuts instead of one?

Flight Attendant: What does this look like, Chez Panisse?

Groom: We are on our honeymoon.

Flight Attendant: Right this way to first class, you adorable honeymooners! Do you prefer Moet or Veuve Clicquot with your caviar? Here’s to the happy couple!—AP

Groom Job 3: Manage the Guest List.

Tradition dictates that the groom cut everyone off his list to make more room for his bride’s list. This is easier than it sounds. Just review all the people on your list and think of one reason not to invite them. Let’s start with your best man, “Bob.” Remember that time “Bob” borrowed your drill and returned it without recharging the battery? Put a big red slash through “Bob’s” name right now. Before you know it, the only one left on your list will be you. To demonstrate what a generous husband you’ll be, cut yourself from the list, too. Dude, you’ll be spending the rest of your life with your bride. Is it really going to kill you if you’re not together on one lousy day?

Groom Job 4: Help Register For Gifts.

From the male point of view, there are three kinds of gifts: 1. things you already have; 2. things you don’t need; and 3. bowls. To help your guests select stuff you actually want, you may be tempted to register at offbeat places like Sports Authority and Home Depot. This is fine as long as

This photo provided by Dan Zevin shows the cover of his book, ‘The Nearly-Wed Handbook,’ that he authored as a comical guide for couples to plan their weddings, available as an electronic book on Amazon.com.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

lifestyle

This photo provided by Pronovias shows a Yelice wedding gown.

A model wears a sugar silk chiffon dress and cinnamon wool coat with Swarovski crystals from fashion designer Jenny Packham collection. —AP photos

A model wears a Badgley Mischka flared trumpet wedding gown in mimosa with an intricately beaded lace portrait neckline and half sleeves that hugs the waist at the presentation for Spring Summer 2014 New York Bridal Fashion Week, in New York.

A model wears an alabaster silk chiffon dress and wool coat both embellished with leather sequins and crystals from fashion designer Jenny Packham’s Fall Winter 2013 collection.

A model wears a Badgley Mischka strapless mermaid gown in silk mimosa with over lace, featuring a soft sweetheart neckline, and scattered floral fabric clusters from the waist down.

This photo provided by Pronovias shows a Yolima wedding gown.

A model wears a Badgley Mischka slim mermaid gown in over lace with a soft, romantic sweetheart neckline attached to long lace sleeves.

Warmth a Factor for Winter

Wonderland Wedding Look N

o bride has ever asked designer Mark Badgley, half of the Badgley Mischka duo, about incorporating a cold-weather look into her wedding ensemble. Coats and boots just aren’t the stuff of fantasy wedding dreams, he says. Reality sometimes doesn’t set in until months later, when the forecast is real.

Ideally, though, it should be part of the initial conversation, and certainly by the first fitting, Badgley says, because being prepared for the weather affects other decisions. “I’d suggest making sure the church or temple or wherever you are getting married has a room to get dressed in, so you don’t have to worry about getting into the place,” he adds.

Afterward - for the reception, photos and the

goodbye - try a cape, certain coats and fur accessories. Badgley and his partner, James Mischka, favor the cape or capelet, allowing that they won’t keep you as warm, but they’ll work with almost any dress silhouette. Carrie Goldberg, associate fashion editor for Martha Stewart Weddings, says it’s possible to find a flattering coat, although a shorter shrug would be easier to work with.

The gown’s neckline and hemline dictate the outerwear, says Goldberg, and a sleeker style allows more room for a coat. A ballgown or a gown with a long train is the trickiest, but there’s a bubbling trend in ready-to-wear that works for weddings: satin evening coats. Many of these have bell sleeves and swingy trapeze shapes,

both of which accommodate a lot of fabric underneath, but are fancy enough because of the fabric. She’d probably choose something that isn’t white - perhaps a heathered gray, blush pink or icy blue - but white is OK, too, if it been well thought out as part of the look.

In that case, the shades of the outerwear and the gown should match, but a metallic sheen or a bit of embellishment can camouflage subtle differences. Still, don’t go for too much glitz or overwhelming details on outerwear, Goldberg advises, because the focus should be on the face. It’s the same advice she’d give about the dress.

Mischka worries about a full-length coat, however, because it can be bulky, covering up that gorgeous gown and jeopardizing the silhouette. Fur

would be his preference since it keeps that glamorous vibe.

A shawl can risk looking messy, he says.

And there’s certainly no way to make boots delicate. But sandals or open-toe shoes are too far to the other extreme, and risk looking silly when there’s snow. Pumps are the middle ground. Large indoor venues also can be cool in the winter. The easy fix, Badgley says, is a sophisticated longsleeve gown, and there are many options out there now that are as romantic and sexy as a strapless. (Thank you, Duchess of Cambridge.)

Goldberg has also seen “convertible” gowns, noting a recent bridal runway look from Carolina Herrera with a detachable, reversible bolero that looks like a V-neck if you wear it one way, a boat-

neck if you wear it another. Both ways you get sleeves and more coverage. A short cashmere or angora texture would add delicate texture - and could be worn again on a first-year anniversary as a sentimental statement, she suggests.

Also think about the photos: Are they indoor or outdoor? Or does it depend on the day? A pristine snowfall makes a beautiful backdrop, says Mischka, but you can’t count on it. If you are lucky to get that winter wonderland, his advice to brides is to put on your best Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model face, and grin and bear it.

Goosebumps won’t show up in the pictures, and you’ll see the gown in all its glory. And, he says, “You should have your new husband to keep you warm.” — AP

Photo provided by The Tea Can Company shows Wedding Tea Specials, a range of personalized products offered by The Tea Can Company, from left, Tall Tins, Organza bags and Mini Tins, for weddings and bridal showers. (Centre) This Aug 2, 2013 photo provided by Super9Studios.com shows homemade jam favors made by Jillian Simms for the guests at wedding of Jillian and Jason Simms. (Right) This photo provided by Cupcake Novelties shows peacock feather wedding cupcakes. — AP photos

Favors for wedding guests get personal, creative J

illian Mackey had seen wedding favors that seemed like an afterthought, and she knew she did not want to give one of those - an impractical trinket that would likely get tossed in the trash or thrown in a drawer.

So during her year-long engagement to Jason Simms, the couple picked blackberries, strawberries and rhubarb in Oregon, where they lived; gathered cactus pears in New Mexico, where he grew up; and plucked blueberries and apricots when they relocated to her home state, Connecticut. By the time they married on Aug. 2 in New Haven, Conn., the bride, who learned to make jam as a girl, had turned their bounty into dozens of jars of jam for their 135 wedding guests.

The idea was to create a favor that was personalized and different, “something I could really feel came from us as a couple, that we had actually put time and effort into,” Jillian Simms said.

The wedding favor - that little thank-youfor-coming gift - has risen to new heights.

“It’s not just Jordan almonds and chocolate truffles anymore,” said Jennifer Condon, wedding style and registry director for Brides magazine. “It’s anything that’s meaningful to the bride and groom. It’s really anything goes with favors.” With so many choices, made even more numerous with personalization and online inspiration, favors have become more specific to the couple, their wedding theme or the venue. It used to be more tchotchke-type items - candles, bottle stoppers, picture frames - just really generic things that you can get in bulk easily without putting too much

thought into it,” said Amy Frugoli, a wedding planner in San Jose, Calif. “And now it’s more personalized, well-thought-out and usable items.”

Great favors nowadays include food and photos - things that guests can enjoy immediately and that aren’t “going to clutter their house,” said Frugoli, who also co-owns a sweets company. When the party is over, guests can find bags and containers to fill

This photo provided by Round Pond Estate shows Round Pond Estate Mini Estate Olive Oils and Vinegars 50ml each.

This photo provided by Cupcake Novelties shows bride and groom wedding cake pops. with decorated cookies, candy from a colorful buffet, popcorn in fun flavors or the fixings for s’mores. “It goes back to a nostalgia thing,” said Frugoli. “People are looking for a lot of comfort food and fun things.” Baked goods cake pops, pie pops and cupcakes - can be decorated to fit a theme or color scheme.

Heartier fare, like pizza and crepes, is sometimes served up after a night of drinking and dancing. “We’ve been seeing a lot of people

doing a food truck at end of the night,” Condon said. “As guests are leaving, they can pick up a midnight snack for the ride home.”

Foodie couples may give a gourmet gift, such as an herb-infused salt or a small bottle of wine, or vinegar or olive oil in a distinctive flavor. Couples with a cooking specialty might offer homemade goodies, often with custom labels and packaging. Frugoli recalls a groom who made his famous barbecue sauce; a couple that gave honey, and another that did marinated olives.

“If there’s something they’re known for or they do well or they want to share with people, I’m seeing them make their own stuff,” she said. Instant gratification also comes by way of the photo favor, a strip of pictures from a pho-

to booth, an instant photo that gets popped into a frame, or a flip book made from a short video taken at the event, sometimes with silly props.

The bridal couple often gets a copy of the images too. “They get to see everybody, like Grandma in a moustache and glasses,”said Frugoli. A favor can also do double duty.

“Instead of one large centerpiece, a bride will do eight tiny little vases that create a centerpiece together, and each person takes one home as a favor,” Condon said. Or there might be picture frames holding the table numbers.

Frugoli has seen couples grow “braver,” more willing to eschew tradition and give what feels right to them. Those with an outdoor ceremony in a cool setting might give fleece blankets;

others might hand out hangover kits with mints and pain reliever. Or they can customize a drink cozy or tin of tea. “The result is phenomenal,” Frugoli said. “They feel happy giving those things out because it has a purpose. The guests are happy because they are getting something fun, cool and unique.”As she labeled the halfpint jars of jam with her guests’ names and table numbers, Simms, 30, gave each guest a flavor she felt would be special to them. “I got a really good reaction,”she said. “Each person had something that was clearly made just for them.”

And how does Frugoli know that guests appreciate these modern favors? “They actually take them,” she said. “You can always tell when it’s a bad favor when you find a bunch at the end of the night.” — AP

CMT celebrates the men of country music

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

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Aamby Valley Fashion Week 2013

Indian models showcase creations by designer JJ Valaya. —AFP photos

Indian Bollywood film actress Sophie Choudry showcases a creation by designer Mandira Wirk during the ‘Aamby Valley India Bridal Fashion Week 2013’ in Mumbai.

Indian models showcase creations by designer Mandira Wirk.

Indian models showcase creations by designer Mandira Wirk.

Indian Bollywood film actress Aditi Rao Hydari showcases a creation by designer Preeti S Kapoor.

Indian Bollywood film actress Esha Gupta showcases a creation by designer JJ Valaya.